Mets, Marlins risk making the exact same mistake in 2026 MLB season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It’s one of the funniest scenes from the movie Moneyball about those early-2000s Oakland Athletics.
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The characters playing GM Billy Beane and infield coach Ron Washington visit Scott Hatteberg, who they want to sign to turn from a catcher into a first baseman.
Beane insists to Hatteberg that first base isn’t a hard position to learn.
“Tell him, Wash,” Beane’s character says.
“It’s incredible hard,” Washington’s character replies, deadpan.
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Welcome to the 2026 New York Mets and Miami Marlins.
Both are trying to do what those A’s tried to do with Hatteberg: Create a first baseman out of, well, not a first baseman.
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Neither new candidate was a catcher, but both have experience in the infield.
For the Mets, it’s Jorge Polanco, who has played the other three infield spots extensively but only one game, and less than a full inning, at first base.
For the Marlins, it’s Christopher Morel, a former third baseman who has never played a regular season MLB inning at first.
Time to find out how tough it is, huh?
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Both teams are using these guys at first base because they needed to put them somewhere to get their bats in the lineup. They don’t need Gold Glovers over there, but they need competency.
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And somehow, there’ll be some NL East Division games this year that are decided by whether the brand new first basemen can make plays over there when they are called upon.
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