Tracking the history of baseball’s two-way players
Ronald Martinez // Getty Images
Tracking the history of baseball’s two-way players
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels on the pitcher’s mound
Jared Beilby // Stacker
Two-way players are a rarity post-1930
Bar chart of major league baseball’s two-way players by decade
Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images
Pre-1900s: Two-way players run rampant
Members of the St John baseball team pose on a field, circa 1895
Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images
Early 1900s: The dead ball era signals a decline
Baseball pitcher Doc Crandall throws a baseball in 1910
Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images
1918–1919: Babe Ruth pulls double duty for two seasons
Babe Ruth warms up before a game
Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images
1920s–1930s: Bullet Rogan leads the way for Negro Leaguers
Bullet Rogan and the rest of the 1934 Kansas City Monarchs
Todd Warshaw // Getty Images
1940s–2010s: The two-way player enters a dark age
Rick Ankiel winds back to pitch the ball
Sarah Stier // Getty Images
2018–present: Shohei Ohtani ends long dry spell
Shohei Ohtani hits a home run
