note: the following column appeared in the April edition of Mets Inside Pitch…

Pride in the Outfield...

by Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com

Having spent the better part of his life perfecting the nuances of center field,  the Mets are shifting Mike Cameron 80 feet to the right to accommodate newly acquired Carlos Beltran.  Though Cameron recently embraced the move, his previous statements indicate that he will always see himself as a center fielder – no matter where he is standing on the diamond.

Be it in high school or the Major Leagues, a baseball player’s connection to his position is a difficult bond for fans and management to grasp.  As sports psychologist Dr. Richard Lustberg put it, “it’s all about the player feeling comfortable.”  However, he points out, in the end, Mike Cameron is employed by the Mets.  Cameron didn’t sign a contract to play centerfield, he signed a contract to work for a company – and workers get reassigned all of the time in the business world. 

“[Cameron’s] not gonna be happy, and you don’t want nobody on your team that’s not happy,” says Twins OF Torii Hunter, a three-time American League Gold Glove winner, who believes Cameron is a better defensive outfielder than Beltran.  “He’s gonna play where he has to play and he’s gonna do what he has to do and he won’t complain.  But, deep down inside I know he’s hurting because somebody asked him to move to left or right.”

Cameron takes pride in playing center field, as does Hunter.  It’s part of their identity.  It’s what pays their bills.  But the Mets are a team, not a series of identities, and like any company with a product and a fickle client base, the employee must do what he’s told.  Therefore, bringing Cameron on board is vital to the team’s success - an uncomfortable and unhappy Cameron could be an un-productive Cameron.  

Regardless of the profession, the more comfortable an employee is, the better the person will perform.  Baseball is no different, says Fred Claire, former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  “You have to consider the player’s ability to do what you’re asking him to do,” Claire explains.  “Don’t put someone in a position to fail, or where he’s not going to feel comfortable.”

Confidence is the most vital part of any player’s skill set.  By moving a prominent player from his position unceremoniously, the player’s ego is shattered, and he begins to doubt himself. 

Stability, on the other hand, allows a player time to relax and become comfortable and confident with his ability, explains Dr. Lustberg.  Confidence doesn’t eliminate failure, of course.  Cameron was comfortable in center last season but heavily criticized for under-performing defensively.  Confidence does, however, create a better probability for success.

“As far as trying to tell Mike Cameron to move to left or right, that’s terrible,” Hunter adds.  “That’s like asking the catcher to go to shortstop.  There’s no way he can do that.  He has a passion to play center field.”

Players do move positions, though.  It’s not an absurd request.  Jason Isrighausen was once a shortstop.  Troy Percival was a catcher.  Craig Biggio went from catcher to second base to the outfield and back to second.  Willie Mays was a shortstop until he broke his arm.

“You have to realize that the game is fun, it’s okay to smile on the field,” Mets 3B David Wright explains.  The 22-year-old Wright enters his second season in the Major Leagues assured a starting spot at the position he has played his entire life.  “It’s okay to have a good time,” Wright adds, “because we’re just a bunch of big kids playing a game.”

However, as the years pass, the salaries rise and the awards pile up, perspective is trumped by ego and professional athletes begin to live in fear of the commodities market they helped to create.

“Each year, Cameron is in competition with the entire Major Leagues for his position because at any given time the Mets can trade for whomever they wish,” says Dr.  Lustberg.   For the players, the psychological fallout of free agency has been adjusting to the idea that they’re objects.  With their freedom to relocate comes their owner’s freedom to move them around like pawns. 

“Cameron’s only real power is to hold on to what he can,” Dr. Lustberg adds.  “So centerfield becomes the personification of not being treated like an object.  Mike Cameron was just moved over like a chess piece on a board.”

Following the first day testing his skills in right field, Cameron told reporters that he’s adjusting the best he can, adding, "The thing I'm thinking about now is how can I use right field to my advantage.”

Dr. Lustberg agrees with this approach.  The key, he believes, to a successful transition for Cameron is openly accepting any possible silver lining that can come of it because in a few years, when Cameron is winning Gold Glove awards in center field for another team, nobody will remember his time in right field with the Mets. 

Dr. Lustberg notes, “What you’re hearing are emotional leaks out of him…so, what’s happening is that he’s emotionally leaking these statements…these ‘leakings’ are a reflection of his emotions.  I would say to him, ‘what positives are going to come out of this for you as a person, and how do you want to be seen.  If you don’t mind being seen in a certain light, by your employer, or your future employer or the fans, that’s fine.  If in fact you do mind, and you are sensitive and you want to be seen in a more enhancing light, then perhaps there is another way to go, and only you, Mike, can make the decision.”

This spring, Darryl Strawberry returned to the Mets as an instructor, following a fifteen-year divorce from the team that brought him into the league.  Strawberry has stated he regrets having not won more than one World Championship with the Mets.  He also points out that the team’s passionate fans were a motivational tool he missed while playing for other clubs.  Strawberry explained these feelings to Cameron in Port St. Lucie, and many suspect the comments had an impact.

Spring training games are underway, Beltran’s in center, Cameron is not and there are plenty of other right fielders who’d gladly take his place.  He can happily accept the challenge of being a right fielder and alter his goals, or he can continue believing he’s a center fielder, ride out his remaining days and get traded, leaving him to potentially regret his choice like Strawberry.  Only Cameron can decide for sure.

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