Texas Rangers outfielder Ian Desmond hit his 20th home run of the season during Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics, becoming just the fourth player in major league history to record 20-homer campaigns as both a primary shortstop and center fielder, per MLB Stat of the Day (h/t MLB.com’s Ryan Posner).
Mostly a shortstop while playing for the Washington Nationals from 2009 to 2015, the 30-year-old Desmond has made a seamless transition to the outfield in his first seasons with the Rangers, making 74 starts in center field and 27 starts in left field (101 total) through the team’s first 103 games.
Although he’s committed five errors in center and three more in left, Desmond has more than made up for the miscues with his impressive range and even more impressive batting.
His current batting average (.307), on-base percentage (.359) and slugging percentage (.525) would all represent career-best marks, and he’s also on pace for 31 homers, 98 RBI and 115 runs—all of which would be career highs.
Playing home games in Arlington has certainly helped, with Desmond sporting a 1.001 OPS at home compared to a much more modest .786 mark on the road.
In any case, the last player to accomplish Desmond’s recent feat was Milwaukee Brewers superstar Robin Yount, who proved highly effective as both a center fielder and shortstop for long stretches of his 20-year Hall of Fame career.
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