Hi y'all,
I'm clear on the general formula and penalties for playing out of position. I've read all the forum posts and played out off position many times. But I do still have a question about catchers playing out of position. The following quote is pulled from the often quoted Developer's Chat from many years ago:
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."
What does that last sentence about catchers mean? Can anyone clarify how those shift penalties work for catchers playing at unrated positions? As an example, how would 2006 Joe Mauer (A/A+/A+) do at 2B all year?
Thanks for any help!