Hello world of WIS. i was reading the prior forums on playing out of position, and have a grasp on the
a) bill James positional spectrum (C > SS > 2B > 3B > OF > 1B > DH ; as there is no Corner OF/CF distinction)
b) 2% regression per position, and 10% range reduction per position

however what i am curious about is if i am correct in these 2 scenarios:
a) 1983 willie Wilson C/A- had a F% of .975, playing him at 3B should then mean he is -2% down to .9555%; avg 3B in 1983 was .952 F%, so theoretically he would be a slightly above avg 3B. his range of A- (10 out of 12 on the WIS ranks) -10% would bring him to a 9/12 or a B+......... is this correct?

b) 1963 Maury Wills as a SS has a C/C- grades and a f% of .959. if i played him at lets say 2B would his grade be reduced or improved, as he moved from SS > 2B?; if like willie above he would be .940 (lg avg was .977) and a D+ (so not good at all) However if he actually is improved defensively at 2B he would be .978F% and still a C- (maybe C at best) which would be handy to have poor defensive SS playing 2B.

curious minds want to know.

I'm not immediately able to find the exact numbers, but I do know that playing out of position gives the player a defensive penalty, no matter which direction they move on the spectrum. So, in scenario B, the player would not get better even if they move to an easier position. They would take the penalty for playing out of position, and that's all.

Not exactly the way it works as I understand it When Wille moves to 3B his Fielding % is mapped to that of a 3B so his 'C' fielding grade in the OF is mapped to whatever 'C' is for a 3B (I think it is a range of .934 - .943) and then penalties assigned from there, 2% for being out of position and 4% for each move left on the spectrum.

See this Dev Chat question from back in 2005 in one of the defense threads

[from the 10/13/05 Developer Chat]

Hi, If understand correctly, you use the Bill James defensive spectrum in your code. When it comes to moving players who are ranked at one position to one that they are not, how does this affect them. Can I play a Catcher at 3B with minimal damage? How about LF? Could my A-/A+ AAA Shortstop excel in CF? I guess what I am really asking is how exactly do you figure out the fielding rates of out of position players?

Anytime a player is put in a position he didn't play that season, his fielding percentage is mapped to the new position (maintaininig the same level of play). Then he is assigned a 2% penalty to his fielding percentage. Each shift along the spectrum results in an additional 4% hit. The likelihood of turning double plays for out of position players also decreases. Putting a non-catcher behind the plate will result in many successful steals along with a ton of passed balls. Catchers are a special case, so we assign shift penalties based on the position they will be playing.

Besides his fielding percentage, does moving a player to a position he does not play affect his range? Will an A 2B who didn't play 2B that year be an A CF?

Range works the same way with different penalty values. 10% hit for being out of position, and a 15% hit for each shift on the spectrum (in the more difficult direction).

This was copied from the below thread
https://www.whatifsports.com/forums/Posts.aspx?topicID=376099

Which is linked in contrarian23's ever helpful Frequently Asked Questions about SLB Topic

Combalt's take is correct. His fielding would be mapped to the similar 3B equivalent FLD% for that season for his league, then the penalties apply from there.

excellent , thank you for the follow ups :)