Two-way player
In sports that require a player to play on offense and defense (such as basketball and ice hockey), a two-way player refers to a player who excels at both. In sports where a player typically specializes on offense or defense (like American football), or on pitching or batting (like baseball), it refers to a player who chooses to do both.
Basketball
Commonly used in basketball, a two-way player excels at both the offensive side of the game and the defensive side of the game.[1][2]
Some of the best two-way players in the
In the Women's National Basketball Association, Yolanda Griffith, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Lauren Jackson, Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles, and A'ja Wilson have won both the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Griffith, Swoopes, Leslie, Jackson, and Wilson won both awards in the same year, with Swoopes doing so twice.[4]
Hockey
In the
Only two players have won both the
Baseball
Background
In
Until
Effective with the 2020 season, "two-way player" became an official MLB roster classification. A player qualifies once he reaches the following statistical milestones in either the current or the immediately previous season:[11]
- At least 20 MLB innings pitched.
- Appearing in at least 20 MLB games as a position player or designated hitter, with at least 3 plate appearances in each of the 20 games.
Once the player qualifies, he retains two-way status for the remainder of the current season plus all of the next season. Two-way players do not count against the limit of 13 pitchers (14 for regular-season games after September 1) on a team's active roster instituted in 2020, and also are not subject to restrictions on pitching by position players that were also introduced in 2020.[11]
For the 2020 season only, statistics from either 2018 or 2019 could be used to qualify a player for two-way status. This allowed the Los Angeles Angels to classify Shohei Ohtani, who did not pitch in 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, as a two-way player in 2020.[11]
Recent players
In 2017, the Tampa Bay Rays selected Brendan McKay, a two-way player, and began developing him as a pitcher and a first baseman;[12] he made his MLB debut as a pitcher and DH during the Rays' 2019 season.[13][14]
Shohei Ohtani, a two-way player as a pitcher and outfielder, moved from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB in 2018 and became one of the few players to hit and pitch professionally. He has been used as a DH on days when he does not pitch.[15][16] Ohtani was named the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year after becoming the first player since Babe Ruth to hit at least 20 home runs and pitch at least 50 innings in the same season.[17] In 2021, Ohtani became the first player to be selected for the MLB All-Star game as both a pitcher and designated hitter, and he finished the year with 46 home runs and a 158 OPS+ as a hitter and a 3.18 ERA on the mound, winning the AL MVP award unanimously.[18][19][20]
Pitcher Michael Lorenzen, a former two-way player at Cal State Fullerton, amassed 133 at-bats, 31 hits and seven home runs in his seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and he played as an outfielder in 36 games.[21][22] He would stop batting in the Major Leagues after leaving the Reds, pitching for the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, being named an All-Star and pitching a no-hitter in 2023.[23]
Other major-league teams have evaluated prospects as two-way players, including Anthony Gose, Brett Eibner and Trey Ball.[12][24][25]
Notable two-way baseball players
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Player | League | Team(s) | Years as two-way player |
Wins | Losses | ERA | Batting average |
HRs | RBI | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rick Ankiel[26] | MLB | St. Louis Cardinals | 1999–2001, 2004 | 13 | 10 | 3.90 | .240 | 76 | 251 | Ankiel was the first player since Babe Ruth to have won 10 or more games in a season, and to hit 50 career home runs. |
Nixey Callahan[27] | MLB | Chicago Colts/Orphans Chicago White Sox |
1894, 1897–1903 | 99 | 73 | 3.39 | .273 | 11 | 394 | Pitched a no-hitter in 1902 |
Leon Day[28] | Negro leagues | Baltimore Black Sox Brooklyn/Newark Eagles |
1934–1946 | 67[a] | 29 | 4.51 | .285 | 3 | 67 | MLB Hall of Fame
|
Martín Dihigo[28] | Negro leagues | Hilldale Giants New York Cubans |
1923–1928, 1930–1931, 1935–1936, 1945 | 26 | 19 | 2.92 | .307 | 64 | 227 | MLB Hall of Fame
|
Hideo Fujimoto | JBL/NPB | 1943–1948 | 200 | 87 | 1.90 | .245 | 15 | 151 | Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Fumio Fujimura | JBL | Osaka Tigers |
1936–1938, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1950–1951 | 34 | 11 | 2.43 | .300 | 224 | 1,126 | Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame |
Brooks Kieschnick[26] | MLB | Milwaukee Brewers | 2003-2004 | 2 | 2 | 4.59 | .248 | 16 | 46 | 2-time Dick Howser Trophy winner |
Masaru Kageura | JBL | Osaka Tigers |
1936–1938 | 27 | 9 | 1.57 | .271 | 25 | 222 | Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame |
Kim Seong-han | KBO | Haitai Tigers |
1982–1983, 1985–1986 | 15 | 10 | 3.02 | .286 | 207 | 781 | |
Michael Lorenzen[21] | MLB | Cincinnati Reds | 2015–2019 | 20 | 21 | 4.06 | .235 | 7 | 24 | |
Michio Nishizawa | JBL/NPB | Nagoya/Sangyo/Chubu Nihon/Nagoya Dragons/Chunichi Dragons Gold Star/Kinsei Stars |
1937–1943, 1946–1947[b] | 60 | 65 | 2.23 | .286 | 212 | 940 | Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame |
Akira Noguchi | JBL/NPB | Hankyu Braves Chunichi/Nagoya Dragons |
1936–1937, 1942–1943, 1948[c] | 49 | 40 | 2.54 | .251 | 61 | 572 | Brother of fellow two-way player Jiro Noguchi |
Jiro Noguchi | JBL/NPB | Hankyu Braves |
1939–1943, 1946–1952 | 237 | 139 | 1.96 | .248 | 9 | 368 | Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame |
Shohei Ohtani | NPB | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 2013–2017 | 42 | 15 | 2.52 | .286 | 48 | 166 | |
MLB | Los Angeles Angels | 2018, 2020–2023 | 38 | 19 | 3.01 | .274 | 171 | 437 | Won the 2021,2023 American League Most Valuable Player Award
| |
Ted Radcliffe[28] | Negro leagues | 1929–1935, 1937–1939, 1941–1944, 1946 | 32 | 30 | ? | .278 | 19 | 97[d] | Known as "Double Duty Radcliffe" | |
Bullet Rogan[26][28] | Negro leagues | Kansas City Monarchs | 1920–1929, 1933, 1935, 1937 | 119 | 50 | 3.68 | .338 | 45 | 199[e] | MLB Hall of Fame
|
Babe Ruth[9] | MLB | Boston Braves |
1914–1921, 1930, 1933 | 94 | 46 | 2.28 | .342 | 714 | 2,214 | MLB Hall of Fame
|
Junzo Sekine | NPB | Kintetsu Pearls |
1950–1957 | 65 | 94 | 3.43 | .279 | 59 | 424 | Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame |
George Sisler[27] | MLB | St. Louis Browns | 1915–1916 | 5 | 6 | 2.35 | .340 | 102 | 1,175 | MLB Hall of Fame
|
Willie Smith[26] | MLB | Cleveland Indians Chicago Cubs |
1963–1964, 1968[f] | 2 | 4 | 3.10 | .248 | 46 | 211 | |
Kota Yazawa | NPB | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 2023–present | |||||||
Doc White[26] | MLB | Philadelphia Phillies Chicago White Sox |
1902, 1909–1910 | 189 | 156 | 2.39 | .217 | 2 | 75 |
American football
In the National Football League (NFL), there are few two-way players, as most offensive players do not play defense nor do defensive players play offense. A major concern is the possibility of injury when a player is overused. In the early years of the NFL, two-way players were more common as part of the one-platoon system, but in modern times, they are a rarity.[33]
Deion Sanders was a starter on defense who occasionally played offense, except for the 1996 season in which he played a considerable amount of offense as a wide receiver.[34]
William Perry, "The Fridge" was a defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears from 1985 to 1993. Perry occasionally played fullback in goal line situations and set the then-record for the heaviest player to score a touchdown at 335 lb (152 kg).
Troy Brown, well-regarded for his special-teams skills and as a wide receiver,[35] played significant time at cornerback when starters were injured during the 2004 season. His three interceptions ranked second among Patriots players that season.[36] He also played cornerback in an emergency role during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
At the college level, some players play on both sides of the ball.[38] While he was at UCLA (2013–2015), linebacker Myles Jack also played running back, and he won both the Pac-12 Conference Offensive and Defensive Freshman Player of the Year awards.[39] In the mid-1980s, Gordie Lockbaum was a notable two-way player—he twice finished in the top five in Heisman Trophy balloting, and later was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame.[40]
Association football
Two-way players who are skilled at playing both goalkeeper and outfielder are very rare at the higher levels of play. One of few who've started different matches as outfielder and goalkeeper was David Webb, who started one match in 1971 for Chelsea F.C. as goalkeeper, and none at higher levels can consistently switch between starting as a goalkeeper and an outfielder.
In the event that a team loses all its regular goalkeepers to injuries or red cards, outfielders have occasionally switched mid-match to the goalkeeper role for the rest of the match, but the player's switch is not normally normalised in later matches.
Regular goalkeepers are not prohibited from participating in outfield activity while being goalkeeper, though this is normally considered risky. Examples include
See also
- All-rounder, a cricketer who is skilled at batting and bowling
Notes
- ^ Recordkeeping was poor during Day's career; league historians claim he won as many as 300 games.[29][30]
- ^ Nishizawa was primarily a pitcher from 1937 to 1943, and primarily a position player from 1946 onward.
- ^ Akira Noguchi was primarily a pitcher in 1936–1937 and primarily a position player from 1942 onward.
- ^ Biographer Kyle P. McNary estimates that Radcliffe had a .303 batting average, 4,000 hits and 400 homers in 36 years in the game.[31]
- semipro and Army teams, at more than 350 games won, 2000 strikeouts, 2500 hits, 350 home runs, and 500 stolen bases.[32]
- Nankai Hawksof the NPB (in 1972–1973), but primarily as a position player; he only pitched 1/3 of an inning.
References
- ^ Schuhmann, John (August 16, 2017). "Taking stock of best of best two-way players in NBA today". NBA.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Paine, Neil (July 11, 2016). "Farewell To Tim Duncan, The Greatest Two-Way Player In Modern NBA History". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- ^ Krishnamurthy, Aaditya (December 1, 2021). "Michael Jordan Is The Only Player In NBA History To Win Defensive Player Of The Year While Averaging 35+ Points Per Game". Yardbarker. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ "Most Valuable Player". WNBA.com. September 7, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ Prewitt, Alex (October 2, 2019). "Double Duty: The Value of a Two-Way Forward in Today's NHL".
- ^ Macfarlane, Steve (August 27, 2016). "Ranking the 10 Best 2-Way Defensemen in the NHL for 2016-17 Season". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ "Pronger Named MVP and Top Defenseman". Los Angeles Times. June 16, 2000. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ "2017 MLB Team Position Performance by BA".
- ^ a b Kram, Zach (March 27, 2018). "Lessons From a Legend, 100 Years Later". The Ringer.
- ^ Miller, Doug (December 6, 2017). "Ex-two-way prospects assess Ohtani's future". MLB.com. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Rule changes announced for 2020 season". MLB.com. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- ^ a b Justice, Richard (May 24, 2018). "Shohei Ohtani clearing path for 2-way players". MLB.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^ Topkin, Marc (June 29, 2019). "What a debut for Rays rookie Brendan McKay in 5-2 win". TampaBay.com.
- ^ "Ex-Blackhawk star Brendan McKay goes 0 for 4 in hitting debut with Rays". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. July 1, 2019.
- ^ DiGiovanna, Mike (February 14, 2018). "Angels' two-way player Ohtani will pitch and be a DH, but he won't be allowed to slide head-first". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ Miller, Sam (April 3, 2018). "Should Shohei Ohtani stay a two-way player? Exactly 100 years ago, the Red Sox faced the same question with Babe Ruth". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ Schoenfield, David (November 13, 2018). "Angels' Shohei Ohtani beats Yankees' duo to win AL Rookie of the Year". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ "46 HRs, 100 RBIs: Shohei caps dream season". Rhett Bollinger. October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ^ "A 2-time and a 2-way MVP in Bryce, Ohtani". mlb.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ "Register Players Encyclopedia - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
- ^ a b Kram, Zach (September 17, 2019). "The Reds Are Refining the Optimal Approach for a Two-Way Player". The Ringer.
- ^ "Michael Lorenzen Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ "New Phillie Michael Lorenzen talks being a two-way player, greatness of Shohei Ohtani". Phillies Nation. Tim Kelly. August 9, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "Ball getting new life as two-way prospect". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^ "Texas Rangers: How Rangers landed Anthony Gose, a two-way player who plays outfield and pitcher | SportsDay". Sportsday.dallasnews.com. December 6, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Tracking the history of baseball's two-way players". WNCT. June 19, 2022.
- ^ a b Jaffe, Jay (April 6, 2018). "Shohei Ohtani and Beyond: a History of Double-Duty Players". Fangraphs.
- ^ a b c d Castrovince, Anthony (February 5, 2022). "Negro Leagues had their own two-way stars". MLB.com.
- ISBN 0-7864-0784-0.
- ^ James, Michael (1995). "Hall of a shame: Fame finds Leon Day too late for legend to walk through shrine". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- ^ McNary, Kyle P. Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe: 36 Years of Pitching & Catching in Baseball's Negro Leagues (Minneapolis: McNary Publishing, 1994).
- ISBN 1-893250-08-3, p. 212.
- ^ Santorosa, Tony (March 8, 2012). "NFL's Best Two-Way Players of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ "Deion Sanders Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ "Troy Brown | The Patriots Hall of Fame". www.patriotshalloffame.com. June 8, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ^ "2004 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ^ Hensley, Jamison (August 23, 2017). "Patrick Ricard looking to become NFL's sixth two-way player of the past decade". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ Greenawalt, Tyler (November 17, 2015). "Two-way players make a resurgence in college football". NCAA.com. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ Foster, Chris (December 2, 2013). "UCLA's Myles Jack is chosen Pac-12 freshman of the year — twice over". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ "College Football Hall of Fame: Gordie Lockbaum". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
External links
- Duncan, Mike. "Shohei Ohtani, The Bambino, and Bullet Joe," The Hardball Times (April 11, 2018).
- Jaffe, Jay. "Shohei Ohtani and Beyond: a History of Double-Duty Players," FanGraphs (April 6, 2018).