Cuddyer: Versatility helps on the field and in life

As a kid, there was only one thing I wanted to do: I wanted to be a major league baseball player.I didnt care how I was going to get there or what position I would play if I were fortunate enough to get there. The only thing that I wanted was to play in the major leagues. That mentality has helped me adapt to the different roles Gardy has asked me to play. Getting to the major leagues and staying there has not been an easy task, but if Tom Kelly had not told me to pick up a different glove, there is no telling where I would be today.Growing up, I was always one of the better athletes on the team. The positions the better athletes play on Little League teams are usually shortstop and pitcher. So thats where I played. My advice to all coaches of young children is to play them all over the field. The more kids can learn about the game, the better off they will be in the long run.As a professional, playing different positions was a lesson I learned on the fly. In 2001 -- after I spent the 1998 season at shortstop and 1999 and 2000 at third base -- Tom Kelly called me into his spring training office to send me down to minor league camp. When he did that, he asked me a pretty straightforward question: Do you think you are going to start over Corey Koskie at third base?At the time, Koskie was becoming a star at the big-league level and I had just finished hitting .263 with only six home runs in Double A, so I answered, Probably not. TK, in a way only TK can say it, replied, Youre probably right!Then he told me I should get a few different gloves to use in my bag. At that point I asked for and received a first basemans mitt and an outfield glove to go along with my third base glove. Little did I know that I was going to need a smaller glove than that third base model.2001 was the year I made my debut at first base and left field. I was in New Britain (Conn.) for our Double A affiliate, and I played about 30 games at first and a handful in the outfield. That year, I also received my first ever call-up to the big leagues. My major league debut was as the DH, but my first start in the field was at first base. I defiantly did not see that coming when I signed as a shortstop out of high school just four short years earlier.The next season was even more interesting. I was sent back to the minor leagues out of spring training in 2002, mainly to work on playing right field. I had never played there before, so the organization wanted me to hone my skills. It was the first time in my career that I didnt play any infield at all. I ended up hitting 20 home runs by the all-star break and played pretty good defense. I was called up after the all-star break, but there was a three-way platoon between Bobby Kielty, Dustan Mohr and me. By the end of the season I was playing in right field every day and into the playoffs, but that wouldnt last long.In 2003, the Twins traded for Shannon Stewart as the everyday left fielder, which made Jacque Jones move to right field. This is when I picked up a second basemans glove and learned how to play that position. By the time the end of the 2004 season rolled around, I was playing second base every day and played there in every playoff game.From that moment on, I told myself that it didnt matter where I played, just as long as I was playing. I started to take pride in the fact Gardy trusted in me enough to put me in a playoff situation at a position that I was still learning.It has been well-documented since that season how the rest of my career up to this point has turned out. I have played over 170 games at first base, over 65 games at second base, over 170 games at third base and over 600 games in the outfield. During batting practice, I always get my work in at whatever position I am playing that night, but I also make sure to get some work at the other spots on the diamond as well. The toughest part about playing different positions is that fact that my margin for error is much smaller than it is for the guys who play the position every day. It is a little bit backward. When I am called upon to fill in for someone, I am expected -- and expect myself -- to play that position as well as the guy I am filling in for. If I make an error that night or make a mistake, the microscope immediately is put on me at that position. It comes with the territory and is a driving force to make sure I am fully prepared to play any position Gardy feels will help the team that night.It has definitely been a long and winding road for me in the big leagues -- one I am extremely grateful to be walking. Being versatile is not only something that will help me in baseball but in life as well. So if you are a coach or a parent and your son or daughter is playing baseball, take Tom Kellys advice: Get a few different gloves in that bag and see just how much of a complete baseball player -- and person he or she can become.