Multi-tools: The 22 greatest do-it-all players in MLB history

Ankiel's big-league career began as a pitcher in 1999 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He won 11 games in 2000, when he owned a 3.50 ERA. However, the left-hander struggled from then on, couldn't throw strikes and dealt with several arm issues. However, Ankiel hit .207 with two home runs in 53 games as a pitcher from 1999-2004, before shifting to being a full-time outfielder. After honing that part of his craft in the minors, Ankiel hit 47 homers and had 148 RBI for the Cardinals from 2007-09. He was the first player since Babe Ruth to win at least 10 games as a pitcher and hit 70 or more home runs in the majors.

Primarily a pitcher during his major-league career, which spanned parts of eight seasons for Washington, the New York Giants and Philadelphia from 1913-27, Bentley went 46-33 with a 4.01 ERA. The left-hander also pitched in five World Series games for the Giants in 1923 and '24. Known as a solid hitting pitcher, Bentley also played more than 50 games at first base and batted .291 in more than 584 big-league at-bats.

Bressler enjoyed quite the major-league career, playing from 1914-1932, and was part of some of the game's most storied teams in the Philadelphia Athletics and Cincinnati Reds. Bressler began his career as a pitcher, and posted a 3.40 ERA in 107 appearances before converting to a position player after the 1920 season. For his career at the plate, Bressler batted .301, including .350 during a three-year stretch from 1924-26 with the Reds.

Jimmy "Nixey" Callahan played parts of 13 major-league seasons, mostly in Chicago from 1894-1913. He also managed the Chicago White Sox during that span. At the plate, Callahan, who spent time in the outfield, was a .273 career batter, who recorded 294 RBI. Meanwhile, on the mound, the right-hander Callahan spent eight seasons as a pitcher. He went 99-73 over 195 appearances — 169 starts — and posted a 3.39 ERA while striking out 445. On Sept. 20, 1902, Callahan no-hit the Detroit Tigers for the first no-hitter in American League history.

Chapman's career was rather intriguing, considering he was among the game's best players during his first 12 major-league seasons as position player, then spent time on the mound. He was a four-time All-Star with the New York Yankees while hitting better than .300 and stealing more than 280 bases. Chapman also won a World Series with New York, but after the 1941 season found himself in the minors, where he worked on resurrecting his career as a pitcher. In 1944, with Brooklyn, Chapman returned to the majors as a pitcher. In three seasons, the right-hander went 8-6 with a 4.40 ERA and recorded eight complete games in 25 appearances — 16 starts. 

Cooney, who played 20 seasons in the majors (1921-44), is one of three players in the modern era of Major League Baseball to pitch at least 200 innings in a season (245 2/3 for Boston in 1925) and record 500 or more at-bats (507 with Brooklyn in 1936). In all but six seasons of his career, Cooney both pitched and played the field in the same campaign. A career .286 hitter spanning nearly 3,400 at-bats, Cooney went 34-44 with a 3.72 ERA and 44 complete games in 159 mound appearances, including 75 starts.

One of the majors' best during a career that spanned 1908-18, and mostly with the New York Giants and St. Louis. Used mostly as a relief pitcher, Crandall went 102-62 on the mound, sported an impressive 2.92 ERA and struck out 606 batters. Meanwhile, Crandall could also swing the bat. Used quite often as a pinch-hitter, Crandall had a lifetime .285 batting average, and hit .309 with 41 RBI in a career-high 278 at-bats during the 1914 campaign.

Eibner's career as a big-league position player lasted two seasons (2016-17), split between Kansas City, Oakland and Los Angeles Dodgers. In 87 games, the then-outfielder batted just .191, but hit eight homers. Then after it seemed as if his major-league career was done, Eibner resurfaced for a spell as a pitcher with the Miami Marlins in 2020. That stint spanned just three relief appearances, where the right-hander allowed seven runs, seven hits — two homers — and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. However, it's the effort that counts.

From 2012-16, Gose was an outfielder with Toronto and Detroit. His best season during that span came in 2015 with the Tigers, when Gose set career highs for games (140), home runs (five) and RBI (26). The Tigers organization then decided to convert Gose into a pitcher, a position he eventually made his major-league debut for Cleveland in 2021. In 28 relief appearances — 27 2/3 innings — with that club from 2021-22, the left-handed Gose went 3-0 with a 3.90 ERA before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

A two-time winner of the Dıck Howser Trophy (awarded to college baseball's best player) at Texas, Kieschnick was hailed as the majors' next superstar who could do it all, both at the plate or on the mound. Now, Kieschnick began his major-league career as a position player, spending two seasons with Chicago Cubs (1996-97), then later with Cincinnati and Colorado, but never played more than 39 games in any of those seasons. In 2003, though, Kieschnick found more of a comfort zone as a relief pitcher for Milwaukee, where he went 2-2 with a 4.59 ERA in 74 appearances — spanning two seasons. In 2003, Kieschnick also saw time as a position player, and set career bests for hits (21), home runs (seven) and OPS (.970).

Since breaking into the majors in 2015 with Cincinnati, Lorenzen has primarily been a pitcher, though he's also spent time in the outfield and been used in pinch-hitting roles on a rather consistent basis up until 2022. As of July 1, 2024, Lorenzen was 44-42 with a 4.04 ERA in more than 350 career games, a little more than 80 of which have been starts. Meanwhile, during that time span, Lorenzen has hit seven homers and drove in 24 runs over more than 130 at-bats.

A two-way college standout at Louisville, McKay's major-league career, to date, has been limited to what can be described as a little more than a cup of coffee for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019. In 13 mound appearances, including 11 starts that season, the left-hander went 2-4 with a 5.14 ERA and struck out 56 batters. Meanwhile, McKay went 2-for-10 at the plate, and even started a game as the designated hitter. One of those hits was a home run.

While it's uncertain when Ohtani will be healthy enough to endure another full major-league season as a pitcher and designated hitter/position player, the two-time AL MVP could very well be the greatest two-way player in MLB history. In 2021, Ohtani hit 46 homers and recorded 100 RBI while batting .257 and stealing 26 bases. Two years later, he went deep 44 times and posted at least 95 RBI for a third straight campaign. Meanwhile, on the mound from 2021-23, Ohtani is 34-16 with a 2.84 ERA, 542 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.05. Simply amazing.

A pitcher-outfielder for the Chicago White Sox from 1913-18, Russell went 80-59 with a 2.33 ERA for the Pale Hose. However, arm troubles plagued the left-hander later during that run. The White Sox would ultimately give up on Russell, who then went down to the minors and reinvented himself as a position player. He returned to the majors in 1922 with Pittsburgh, and batted .368 with 12 home runs and 75 RBI. Russell hit a solid .289 the next season and drove in 58 runs before finishing his pro baseball career in the minors well into his 30s.

Even the most casual of MLB fans know that Ruth was one of the greatest of all time. And not just swinging the bat, which he did quite well with those 714 home runs and .342 batting average during his legendary career that began in 1914 with the Boston Red Sox and ended with the same team in 1935, while starring for the New York Yankees in between. However, some fans might forget just what a great pitcher Ruth was while taking the mound in 10 of his seasons. The Babe owned a 94-46 record with a 2.28 ERA in 163 appearances — 147 starts. He won 23 and 24 games, respectively, in 1916 and '17.

Seymour played the outfield and pitched for five different teams during an extensive MLB career that spanned parts of 16 seasons from 1896-1913. Nearly all of Seymour's work on the mound came during his first five campaigns, when he went 61-56. The left-hander had a 3.73 ERA, but seemed to consistently shine at the plate during his major-league run. Seymour batted .303, slugged 52 home runs, had 799 RBI and recorded 222 stolen bases.

Sisler began his Hall of Fame career in 1915 both as a pitcher and position player, and went 4-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 15 appearances — eight starts. From there, though, Sisler would enjoy nearly all of his major-league success at the plate. He batted .340 for a career that began in 1915 with the St. Louis Browns and ended in 1930. The AL MVP in 1922, Sisler won his first AL batting title in 1920, when he hit .407, and a second time two years later with a rather remarkable .420 effort. Sisler also drove in 1,178 runs and stole 375 bases.

A shortstop to begin his career with the Boston Braves in 1923, Smith truly made his transition to the mound in 1926, when he began a stretch of seven consecutive seasons with at least 33 pitching appearances. Smith, who played until 1937, went 106-139 with a 3.94 ERA in 435 mound appearances, while he also batted .242 with 166 RBI and 64 doubles in nearly 1,700 at-bats on his career.

Smith pitched 29 games in the majors in 1963, '64 and '68. He made 26 of those appearances for Detroit and the Angels in 1963-64, and overall posted a 3.10 ERA during his big-league career. Meanwhile, at the dish, Smith, who played from 1963-'71, was a career .248 hitter with 46 home runs and 211 RBI, while also suiting up for Cleveland, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati.

A six-time All-Star and World Series champion during his 19-year major-league career, Walters was the NL MVP in 1939, when he batted .325, but also went 27-11 with a 2.29 ERA. For his stellar career, mostly spent with Philadelphia and Cincinnati, that lasted until 1950, Walters went 198-160 with a 3.30 ERA and more than 1,100 strikeouts. Walters was also a lifetime .243 hitter with 23 home runs and 234 RBI in nearly 2,000 at-bats.

Historians of the game often consider Babe Ruth, Shohei Ohtani and Wood as the best two-way players in the history of Major League Baseball. A three-time World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, Wood played from 1908-22. He was a teammate of Ruth in Boston, and was a .283 career hitter, who also clubbed 23 home runs and had 325 RBI. On the mound, Wood went 117-57 with a 2.03 ERA and 989 strikeouts in 225 appearances. In 1912, the right-hander was a stellar 34-5 with a 1.91 ERA and recorded 35 complete games — 10 shutouts; both figures led MLB — while pitching 344 innings. Wood also hit .290 that season.

Wood was such a good hitting pitcher during a big-league career that spanned 2010-17, Wood was used as pinch-hitter 14 times, and made a combined six appearances as infielder and outfielder. Wood, who won 47 games and posted a 4.26 ERA for Cincinnati, the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City and San Diego, clubbed 11 home runs during his career, including a memorable solo shot against San Francisco in Game 2 of the NL Division Series for the Cubs in 2016.