Who is the all-time greatest utility player?
Mookie Betts has been having another awesome year and is on pace to smash the personal season home run record he set last year. While he had a few starts at second base last year, the Dodgers have...
Mookie Betts has been having another awesome year and is on pace to smash the personal season home run record he set last year.
While he had a few starts at second base last year, the Dodgers have also turned him into a utility player this year by regularly starting him at 2B and, to a lesser degree, short stop in addition to his usual RF (the choice every day comes down to a combination of who is healthy, who needs a day off, and how other line-up options are expected to fair against the opposing starter). Defensively, he’s been solid at those positions and ranks particularly well in OAA at 2B in addition to his usual Golden Glove outfield performance.
His season got me wondering about, who is the best utility player of all time? The Wikipedia article on utility players includes a number of notable ones, including guys that have played every position and guys who played multiple positions during at least one year they were all-stars, however most have average or below average offensive numbers.
Is there a widely considered greatest all-time utility player? If not, who would you nominate for the title?