Changing Positions.(players may lengthen or benefit career with change)

Often lengthens or benefits a player's career

Such major leaguers as Pete Rose, Ernie Banks and Robin Yount have excelled in various fielding positions

THERE IS A FAMOUS PHOTO of Bill Mazeroski s ninth-inning home run against the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series that shows the ball clearing the fence at Forbes Field. The left fielder, realizing the game and Series are over, heads back to the infield.

The reader's inclination is to look at the ball, and then at the outfielder, and because there are no names on the jersey, this player remains to some unknown, even though he is a Hall of Famer--Yogi Berra.

That season Berra, one of the most famous catchers ever, saw significant time in the outfield for manager Casey Stengel. Years of playing backstop had taken its toll on Berra, but he could still hit. If he couldn't catch, he could play elsewhere, thought Stengel.

Players switching positions is as old as the game itself. The reasons are varied as the players themselves--injuries, trades, declining speed, of the need to open a spot for someone else. Whatever the reason, few players spend their entire career at one position.

Whoever thought Cal Ripken, Jr. would play anything but shortstop? When Jackie Robinson broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he played first, a position he disliked. Only after the team traded Eddie Stanky, and Gil Hodges (who played third and catcher) was ready to play first, did Robinson switch to second base, the position he's most noted for playing. And Richie Ashburn, one of the game's great center fielders, broke into the game as a catcher.