For those thinking Kyle Schwarber has lived any sort of life as a first baseman, understand that simply isn't close to reality.
Yes, he did appear at first base for one play -- in the 11th-inning of the Cubs' April 7, 2017 game against the Brewers -- when he moved in from left field to participate as part of a five-man infield. But other that? Not much.
Friday, just hours after the Red Sox acquired Schwarber from Washington, former Cubs (and Red Sox) infield coach Brian Butterfield offered his recollection of how Schwarber's former team approached the idea of putting the player at first.
"(Former Cubs manager) Joe Maddon loves versatility with players so he’s always experimenting if he can get an extra player at a different position," Butterfield told WEEI.com. "But we were well-fortified in Chicago. Ben Zobrist could play over there, Ian Happ could play over. David Bote could play over there. Wilson Contreras. I think it was me and Kyle just getting ground balls toward the end of batting practice.
"I would hit ground balls to a bunch of people. Joe would say, ‘Hey, during batting practice at some point could you hit ground balls to such-and-such.’ It was never where we were seriously considering anything. All I know is that everything about Kyle is that he always really wanted to be a really good player and he’s willing to put in the time. I honestly thought that over two years he really improved as a left fielder. Will (Venable) worked with him extensively. He was always there and always there early, working on his defense and working on balls off the bat during batting practice. He definitely got better.
"I can recollect him taking ground balls and he looked fairly normal, but beyond that I can’t really project what I saw."
If the Red Sox do choose to give Schwarber a look at first base -- like they have with outfielder Franchy Cordero -- than Butterfield can offer somewhat of a blueprint. It was the current Angels' third base coach who was charged with making Mike Napoli a full-time first baseman upon signing with the Red Sox in 2013.
"You break it up into parts," Butterfield explained. "A lot of the stuff that we do during spring training all the time since the beginning of time is that you have to have the right glove action. There has to be a purpose with the glove. So sometimes you end up sitting a guy down in a chair or some type of stool and let him receive ground balls without incorporating the legs just to make sure he has his hand in the right place. Once you feel like you have the glove action down pretty good then you graduate to the feet. The feet are really important. Any good infielder has good feet and his feet work with a purpose. So you break it down like that. Get in the right position with your hands and making sure you have purpose with the feet. That’s what I look at."
So, does Butterfield believe Schwarber would have a chance at becoming a viable option at the position?
"All I know is that if they go in with a plan to work with Kyle Schwarber, you aren’t going to find a better worker," he said. "He’s going to do whatever it takes to help the ball club. If they try to have him play first base, he is going to be a very willing student."