Two-way player
[3] In the Women's National Basketball Association, Yolanda Griffith, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Lauren Jackson, Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles, and A'ja Wilson have won both the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
This rule was what largely made it possible for two-way player Shohei Ohtani to pitch and bat on separate days.
[15][16] Ohtani was named the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year after becoming the first player since Babe Ruth to hit at least 20 home runs and pitch at least 50 innings in the same season.
[18][19][20] In 2022, Ohtani became the first modern-era player to qualify for hitting and pitching leaderboards in the same season,[21] and in 2023 was again the unanimous AL MVP,[22] also making the All-MLB first team as both a designated hitter and starting pitcher.
[23] Pitcher Michael Lorenzen, a former two-way player at Cal State Fullerton, amassed 133 at-bats, 31 hits and seven home runs in his seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and he played as an outfielder in 36 games.
[26] Other major-league teams have evaluated prospects as two-way players, including Anthony Gose, Brett Eibner and Trey Ball.
In the early years of the NFL, two-way players were more common as part of the one-platoon system, but in modern times, they are a rarity.
Perry occasionally played fullback in goal line situations and set the then-record for the heaviest player to score a touchdown at 335 lb (152 kg).
Former St. Louis Rams player Mike Furrey was signed as a wide receiver in 2003 and was converted to safety in 2005, where he would record 58 solo tackles and 4 interceptions.
Furrey would remain as a wide receiver until 2009, when as part of the Cleveland Browns, he was once again converted to safety and also played nickelback due to an injury-riddled secondary.
Troy Brown, well-regarded for his special-teams skills and as a wide receiver,[38] played significant time at cornerback when starters were injured during the 2004 season.
Matlock's offensive coordinator Greg Roman also coached the previously mentioned Patrick Ricard, who made a similar transition to fullback from defensive lineman.
[41] In the mid-1980s, Gordie Lockbaum was a notable two-way player—he twice finished in the top five in Heisman Trophy balloting, and later was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame.
[42] While he was at UCLA (2013–2015), linebacker Myles Jack also played running back, and he won both the Pac-12 Conference Offensive and Defensive Freshman Player of the Year awards.
[49][50] Some notable examples of box-to-box midfielders are Lothar Matthäus, Clarence Seedorf, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Steven Gerrard, Johan Neeskens, Sócrates, Patrick Vieira, Bryan Robson and Roy Keane.
