Utility player In sport , a utility player is one who can play several positions competently , a sort of jack of all trades . Sports in which the term is often used include football , baseball , rugby , rugby league , water polo , softball and track . In cricket , the term all rounder is used instead , although this generally refers to a player who can both bat and bowl competently . The term has gained prominence in all sports due to its use in fantasy league s , but in rugby and rugby league , it is commonly used by commentators to recognize a player ' s versatility . Baseball . In baseball , a utility player is a player who can play several different positions . In general , each major league baseball team has at least one player who can be described as a utility player . Most professional teams have two types of utility players . There are " utility infielder s " , who usually play all of the infield positions ( plus occasionally catcher ) . Utility outfielder s , or fourth outfielders , tend to play all three outfield positions at various times . Occasionally , there will be players who perform a combination of the two duties . Utility players tend to be players who come off of the bench , though this isn ' t absolute . Often , players who don ' t have high prospects to be a major league star will learn additional positions so they can look more attractive to major league clubs as bench talent . In , the Detroit Tigers ' Tony Phillips was the first player to start ten games at five different positions in the same season . César Tovar , Cookie Rojas , Bert Campaneris , Shane Halter , Don Kelly , and Jose Oquendo all played every position ( including pitcher ) during their respective careers . Until becoming an everyday third baseman with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim , and later an everyday second baseman with the Seattle Mariners , Chone Figgins earned a reputation as the game ' s most respected utility player . In , for example , Figgins started 48 games at third , 45 in center field and 36 at second , and finished 17th in American League Most Valuable Player balloting . A famous current utility player is Ryan Theriot of the San Francisco Giants , who has played shortstop , third base , second and outfield at some point in his short major league career . Mark DeRosa is another famous utility man , playing just about every position for the Chicago Cubs , Cleveland Indians , St . Louis Cardinals , and the San Francisco Giants . As well as the Oakland A ' s third baseman Brandon Inge who has played third base , catcher , left field , right field , and center field . Several players have recently been named All Stars while playing multiple positions in their All Star seasons . Second baseman Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays has played first , third , shortstop and outfield in his career . José Bautista is also a current utility player , having played first base , second base , third base , right field , center field , and left field in his career . Zobrist and Bautista both finished in the top 10 in MVP voting while starting at least 40 games at two different defensive positions . Other utility players would include Doug Mientkiewicz , Eduardo Nunez , and Brian Bixler . In softball , a utility player is a player who can play several positions but can also bat well . Coaches often look for such players to bat as clean - up or 5th in the lineup . North American football . In gridiron football , the utility player is often capable of playing multiple positions , and often they may play both offense and defense . The concept was far more common in the early days of football , when pro teams used their best athletes as many ways as possible , and substitutions were far more restricted , meaning players had to stay on the field for offense , defense and " special teams " . This was known as the one - platoon system . The triple threat man , who could run , pass and kick , was particularly popular during the early days of football from the time the forward pass was invented to the World War II era ( see , for instance , Bradbury Robinson , Tommy Hughitt , Sammy Baugh and , during his college years , Johnny Unitas ) . Most levels of football lifted the substitution restrictions during the post - World War II era in the late 1940s , beginning with " platooning " ( use of different offensive and defensive units ) and eventually transitioning to complete free substitution . Chuck Bednarik , a center and linebacker , was the last full - time two way player in the NFL , having retired in 1962 . Despite this , the American Football League of the 1960s frequently used players at multiple positions , particularly kickers and punters ( e . g . George Blanda , Paul Maguire , Cookie Gilchrist , Gino Cappelletti , and Gene Mingo , a running back who became the first black placekicker in modern professional football , among others ) . Because of increased injury risk awareness , since the AFL - NFL merger these types of players are increasingly rare , and true utility players are mostly backups ( e . g . Guido Merkens , Brad Smith ) or career minor - league players ( e . g . Don Jonas , Eric Crouch ) . It is still very common in smaller high schools to see top players play two or even three ways ( offense , defense and special teams ) , in multiple positions , but in college and pro ball , where rosters are larger and the talent pool is more elite , the injury risk outweighs potential benefits . Currently , in the National Football League , Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots uses the utility player frequently . For instance , Doug Flutie , as a former member of the Patriots , famously switched from quarterback to kicker for one extra - point play in 2006 , to deliver the first drop kick in the NFL in sixty years . Belichick has also used his linebackers , including Bryan Cox and Mike Vrabel , as H - back s on offense , and doubled his wide receivers ( e . g . Troy Brown and Randy Moss ) as cornerbacks and safeties . The tackle eligible is a special form of utility player ; examples of those who used this play notably include Jason Peters , Warren Sapp , Jumbo Elliott , William " The Refrigerator " Perry , Mitch Frerotte and Anthony Muñoz . Another example of a type of utility player is the halfback option play , in which a running back performs the passing duties of a quarterback ; Walter Payton , LaDanian Tomlinson and most recently Ronnie Brown have used this play multiple times , and this type of play has spawned an entire offensive scheme . Note that generally , a player who plays one regular position as well as special teams is " usually " not considered a utility player , nor are hybrid running back / wide receivers such as Reggie Bush ; only those who play two distinct offensive and / or defensive positions are considered such , as are those who play an offensive or defensive position and in addition kick or punt . The Arena Football League , for many years , made almost all of its players , with the exception of two players on each side ( always a quarterback , a kicker { the quarterback and kicker were never on the field at the same time } and usually a wide receiver and two defensive backs ) , play both sides of the ball ; this was known as " ironman . " The " ironman " concept was dropped in 2007 , but is expected to be reinstated when Arena Football 1 takes over the league in 2010 . Ice hockey . In ice hockey , it is common for centres and wingers to play either position in certain situations . Depending on need , a team may use a natural centreman on the wing if they have too many centres or , conversely , a winger may be pressed to play centre because of a lack of suitable players in that area . Because of the frequency of forwards playing both positions , the term utility player tends to refer not to a player that plays more than one forward position , but to a player that can play both defense and forward . Teams may use a defenseman as a forward , or vice versa , for a variety of reasons . Sometimes a natural defenseman who struggles on the defensive side of the game but possesses strong offensive qualities may be used as a winger . Marc - Andre Bergeron and Kurtis Foster , for example , have proven to be a quality offensive defensemen who struggle in defending their own zone . As such , they have dressed as forwards so their teams can continue to use their offensive abilities on the powerplay while still using the standard six defensemen during even strength . An extra defenseman may also be pressed to play forward in an emergency situation , where a team has a rash of injuries to their forwards and do not have time to summon a replacement player from a farm team . It is very common for teams to use a forward on " the point " ( defense ) during the powerplay to provide a greater offensive threat . Though the forward is playing defense in this situation , they aren ' t necessarily seen as true utility players . Along with Bergeron and Foster , other notable defensemen that have played forward at some point in their careers include Phil Housley , Mark Streit , Christoph Schubert , Ian White and Chris Campoli . Notable forwards who have played defense include Sergei Fedorov , Mathieu Dandenault , Brooks Laich and Sami Kapanen . In some cases a player has made a full - time conversion from one position to the other and experienced success . Hockey Hall of Famer Red Kelly spent the first half of his career as an offensive defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings before finishing his career as a strong two - way centreman for the Toronto Maple Leafs . Wendel Clark was a star defenseman in junior before converting to left wing and scoring over 300 goals and 500 points in 15 NHL seasons . ( Some junior hockey teams have a tendency to put their best offensive players on defence instead of as forwards , since defencemen generally have more time on the ice . ) Dustin Byfuglien is an example of a current player who has made the switch from forward to defense full - time . Jonathan Ericsson of the Detroit Red Wings is another example of a player who converted from forward to defense . It is extremely rare for goaltenders to play any position other than goaltender ; likewise , it is just as rare for non - goaltenders to suit up in goal , because of the significant difference in skills and equipment required for the position . Association football . In association football , like other sports , the utility man is usually a player who can play myriad positions . This will be commonly be defence and midfield , sometimes defence and attack . A few outfield players have also made competent substitute goalkeepers , for example Phil Jagielka and Mike Magee . But in the case of goalkeepers playing as outfield players , it is extremely rare . Some may be free kick and penalty specialists ( Rogério Ceni , Chilavert and Jorge Campos ) , but they don ' t hold a role in the outfield . John O ' Shea a former Manchester United player , is a famous example for playing in all positions in his United career . Basketball . The term " utility player " is rarely used in basketball outside of fantasy leagues . Instead ; basketball uses the terms tweener and swingman to refer to a player who can play two or three different positions , with more specific terms being combo guard , cornerman , and forward - center . Rugby union . Utility player is a term used mostly in New Zealand . In rugby union , it comes in a form of utility back . It is mostly a back who can cover at least two positions . Notable examples in New Zealand include Daniel Bowden , Luke McAllister and Cory Jane , but Australia also has many utility backs like Adam Ashley - Cooper , Quade Cooper and Matt Giteau . Despite that , there are forwards who are capable of covering multiple positions . Many players in the back row of the scrum ( flanker s and number eight s ) will frequently switch between the two positions . Less often , a player may also be capable of playing lock as well as a back - row position , with a notable modern example being Sébastien Chabal , who has played internationally as both a lock and a back - rower . However , this description never applies to props who can play both ends of the front row ( i . e . Numbers 1 & 3 ) . Rugby League . The use of utility in rugby league is more expansive because not only would a player play only at backs ' ( or forwards ' ) positions , some may play in forward and back positions with similar roles ( e . g . halfback / hooker ) , or even play so many different positions as injury cover . Lance Hohaia is a prime example of this as he played in six different positions in his NRL career . Fantasy sports . In fantasy baseball and basketball , a utility player is a player ( specifically a batter in baseball ) who accumulates statistics without being assigned to a particular position . The batter can play any position ; he need not actually be a utility player ( for example , if a fantasy manager has two first baseman , he can assign one to the first base position and one to a utility slot ) . Similarly , a person assigned a utility slot in fantasy basketball need not be a tweener or swingman .