Editing First baseman (section)

==As a career move==
First basemen are typically not the most talented defensive players on a major-league team. Someone who has the agility, throwing arm, and raw speed to play another fielding position usually plays somewhere other than first base. Great-hitting catchers may play some games at first base so that they can hit in some games without having to absorb the rigor of catching every game.{{According to whom|date=March 2024}}

According to Bill James, aside from pitchers and catchers, the most difficult defensive position to play is shortstop, followed by second base, center field, third base, left or right field (depending upon the ballpark), and finally first base as the easiest position.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} Anyone who can play another position on the field can play first base.

[[Lou Gehrig]] is an example of a player who played first base because he was not as strong a fielder as hitter.<ref name="menand20200525">{{Cite magazine |last=Menand |first=Louis |date=2020-05-25 |title=How Baseball Players Became Celebrities |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/01/how-baseball-players-became-celebrities |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en |access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref> At or near the ends of their careers, good hitters are often moved to first base as their speed and throwing arms deteriorate, a more talented position player was acquired, or their teams become concerned with the likelihood of injury. Such players include Hall of Famers [[George Brett]], [[Paul Molitor]], [[Mike Schmidt]] and [[Jim Thome]] (third basemen), [[Ernie Banks]] (shortstop), [[Rod Carew]] (second baseman), [[Al Kaline]] (right fielder), [[Mickey Mantle]] (center fielder), [[Johnny Bench]], [[Joe Mauer]], and [[Mike Piazza]] (catchers), [[Stan Musial]] and [[Willie Stargell]]  (left fielders). In 2023, [[Philadelphia Phillies]] all-star [[Bryce Harper]] moved from outfield to first base after undergoing [[Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction|Tommy John surgery]]; this enabled Harper to return to the field quicker than expected while also lessening the stress of throwing with his surgically repaired right arm. Only rarely does a player begin his major-league career at first base and go elsewhere, as with [[Jackie Robinson]], a natural second baseman who was played at first base in his rookie season so that he would avoid the risk of malicious slides at second base. [[Hank Greenberg]], a natural first baseman for the [[Detroit Tigers]], moved to left field in his 11th major league season (1940) after his team acquired [[Rudy York]], another slugging first baseman who was ill-suited to play anywhere else.<ref>{{cite web|first=Alex|last=Coffey|title=Tigers move first baseman Hank Greenberg to the outfield|url=https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/hank-greenberg-moves-to-left-field|website=Baseball Hall of Fame|access-date=August 4, 2018}}</ref>