When most major league outfielders start to approach their mid-30s, it's time to think about moving off center field to a corner spot that features less ground to cover.
Adam Duvall is going in the opposite direction.
A multi-time finalist for the Gold Glove and a Gold Glove winner in 2021, Duvall, having played mostly left and right field in his career, is making the transition to center. And he's doing it with enthusiasm.
"It's a position that's somewhat new to me, meaning the last two or three years,'' Duvall said in a Zoom call. "But it's one that I find pretty fascinating and pretty fun because I enjoy tracking down balls, enjoying going to get balls and try to steal hits and keep guys from taking extra bases. I take a lot of pride in my defense, so being able to play center or being able to move over to a corner if that's what they need, I feel like I can be a plus defender at any position out there.''
Duvall, whose major league career dates back to 2014, didn't play center field with any regularity until 2021 with Atlanta. In 674 games started in the outfield over his career, just 68 have been starts in center.
"Like I said, I've always taken pride in my defense,'' Duvall said. "It's always been kind of the cornerstone of what I want to be seen as. When I was first coming up, (Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto told) me, 'If you can play good defense every single day, they'll keep you in the lineup.' It's when you start to kind of mess (up) on defense and let your guard down a little bit, and next thing you know, you're not hitting and now they've got to find a switch for you. That stuck with me, so I always put a lot of work into my defense and I worked a lot on my speed, trying to retain my speed as I get older.
"I've been able to do that. That's how I feel about defense -- I take a lot of pride.''
As Duvall makes the adjustment, he figures to rely on KikΓ© Hernandez, who spent the last two seasons in center for the Sox. Hernandez has been moved to shortstop, but as someone who recruited Duvall to sign with the Red Sox, he can use his experience there to help ease the transition.
"That'll probably be the first person I go to for advice,'' Duvall said of Hernandez, "as far as playing balls off the wall, the little nooks and crannies of it. It's a very unique ballpark. It's going to take some work to get used to, a lot of preparation, even mentally, to get used to the different corners and stuff. But I'm up for the challenge. I'm looking forward to it. Honestly, I can't wait to get going.''
Duvall will be helped, too, by new first base coach and outfield instructor Kyle Hudson, who has few doubts about Duvall's ability to adapt.
"I think the versatility he's shown in the past will allow him to be successful wherever he is,'' said Hudson recently. "It's going to be a process, because for the most part (with rookie Masataka Yoshida in left and Alex Verdugo in right), it's going to be a new group, playing together for the first time. That's a learning curve in itself. But hopefully, in spring training, we'll be able to sit down as a group and I expect Adam to be one of the leaders of the group, to be able to bring some of the younger guys along.
"The versatility he's shown In the past, he's played all three positions really well, will help.''
"I think the biggest challenge will be the dimensions (of Fenway),'' said Duvall. "I've even thought about going back and watching (video) of certain plays and how I can kind of learn to play the ball off the wall, and (handle) the ball off the wall and those things, before I even step foot in the stadium. I'm thinking of ways that I can try and familiarize myself with the park and with the dimensions and how to play certain balls before I even get there. There will be a small learning curve there because it's a very unique park.
"But any way I can familiarize with it would be huge, I think.''