The Age of Super Utility

    Every sport is defined by something. Basketball is a game of runs, soccer is a game of agility and grace, football's a game of chances and baseball, as they say, is a game of inches. A baseball bouncing an inch to the right or left can be the difference between fair or foul, safe or out, win or loss. Yep. Baseball's a game of inches. But it's more complicated than that. Baseball's a game of eras-periods of time where the narrative of the sport is dominated by once single topic and the game must adapt to counter it. The Dead Ball Era, the Yankees Era, the Steroid Era and the Fastball Era just to name a few. Each of these, no matter how long they lasted, forced the game to change.

    Many people look at the state of the game right now and see a new era upon us: the Launch Angle Era. I mentioned the Launch Angle Era in my previous post: Top 10 Most Underrated Hitters. In this era, it is all about the home runs, no matter what. Strikeouts are up, batting average are down. Starters pitch less and the high fastball is your best option on the mound.

Zobrist: Has played 190+ games at FOUR

different position in 12-year career.

    That is the era that most baseball fans think we're in, and they'd be right, but that doesn't mean it's the only one. I think we're currently in another era as well: The Super Utility Era. From Little League all the way up through the minors, players are encouraged to play multiple positions to make themselves more marketable to major league teams.  While we've always seen guys play multiple positions, they always had a primary spot, but now you're seeing guys listed as UTIL, or utility, with no primary position. It's similar to high school and college football players being listed as ATH, or athlete. They can be used as their coaches see fit. Now, we are seeing that kind of strategy work its way more and more into the MLB. We have entered the Age of Utility and it makes things a lot more interesting.

    We're going to take a look at a few players who are considered "super utility players" and a couple of specialty guys who took on the role in extreme cases.

Chris Taylor- Los Angeles Dodgers
 Chris Taylor was a huge piece for the Dodgers in 2017 on their way to the World Series. He had a breakout year after coming over from the Seattle Mariners and provided sparks for LA at the top of their batting order, but it was his work in the field that made him a truly valuable piece. Taylor tallied 501 AB while five different positions and 13 pinch hit appearances for the Dodgers last year. These were his numbers:

CHRIS TAYLOR-2017 BATTING

POSTITION	AT-BATS	AVERAGE	HITS	HOME RUNS	RBIs
2B	67	.313	21	4	11
3B	15	.200	3	0	2
SS	47	.340	16	1	4
LF	189	.333	63	10	32
CF	183	.213	39	5	18
TOTAL*	501	.283	142	20	67

*pinch hit appearances not counted

Fielding multiple positions can be tricky, but Taylor brought his glove with him, committing 11 errors combined:

CHRIS TAYLOR- 2017 FIELDING

POSITION	ERRORS	FIELDING PERCENTAGE
2B	5	.944
3B	1	.909
SS	3	.941
CF	1	.989
LF	1	.990
TOTAL	11	.967

Marwin Gonzalez-Houston Astros

    The Dodgers' opponent in the World Series was the Houston Astros, a team who has their own utility man in Marwin Gonzalez. Gonzalez was all over the diamond for the World Series Champions in the regular season, playing games with SIX different positions following his name on the lineup card. He produced with both the leather and the lumber, racking up a .302 average and only committing 8 errors:

MARWIN GONZALEZ- 2017 BATTING

POSTITION	AT-BATS	AVERAGE	HITS	HOME RUNS	RBIs
1B	81	.309	25	6	16
2B	61	.393	24	5	19
3B	53	.321	17	3	13
SS	113	.248	28	1	12
LF	140	.300	42	7	26
RF	1	.000	0	0	1
TOTAL*	449	.302	136	22	87

*pinch hit appearances not counted

MARWIN GONZALEZ-2017 FIELDING

POSITION	ERRORS	FIELDING PERCENTAGE
1B	2	.988
2B	1	.986
3B	3	.932
SS	2	.984
LF	0	1.000
RF	0	.000
TOTAL	8	.950

Ben Zobrist-Chicago Cubs
    Ben Zobrist has been a really good utility man for over a decade. He even took home World Series MVP honors in 2016 for his work with the Cubs. Zobrist's 2017 stats are just a small sample size of how valuable of a piece he is on the field. Being able to fill any spot on the lineup card is invaluable and Ben Zobrist is one of the best. He has clocked significant time at every position besides pitcher and catcher, but impressively Zobrist has spent 190+ games at four of those positions. There's no denying that the man can flat-out play baseball:

BEN ZOBRIST-2017 BATTING

POSITION	AT-BATS	AVERAGE	HITS	HOME RUNS	RBIs
2B	254	.232	59	5	24
SS	5	.200	1	0	0
LF	54	.259	14	4	10
RF	104	.202	21	2	12
TOTAL*	417	.227	95	11	46

*pinch hit appearances not counted

BEN ZOBRIST- 2017 FIELDING

POSITION	ERRORS	FIELDING PERCENTAGE
1B	0	1.000
2B	3	.988
SS	0	1.000
LF	0	1.000
RF	0	1.000
TOTAL	3	.991

    But, filling a need isn't just for position players. On rare occasions a pitcher has stepped up for their teams. Atlanta Braves pitcher has been called on four times as a pinch hitter in his career and has even made an appearance as a pinch runner.

    On June 2, 2018, Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer came off the bench as a pinch hitter in the 14th inning of a game against the Braves, singled, and scored the go-ahead run from first on a triple. Pitchers can run the bases too, guys!

    The oddest instance of a pitcher going above and beyond came on July 31st, 2016. While he was with the Chicago Cubs, relief pitcher Travis Wood entered the game and pitched. Then, in the 7th inning, manager Joe Maddon took Wood off the mound and put him in left field. He proceeded to then make an impressive catch against the ivy in left field, then went back to the mound to finish the inning as the pitcher...again. Talk about athleticism.

    The utility player can be one of the most valuable pieces on any team, but they can also go relatively unnoticed despite all they bring to their clubs. If you ask me, we should stop focusing on launch angle and dive head first into the Age of Super Utility.

    What do you guys think of the super utility man? Passing fad or new age of the game? Let me hear you! See y'all around!