Braves' Infante in position to play many positions

It all began as a boy playing Little League baseball at home in Venezuela. When a coach moved the 12-year-old from center field to shortstop, Infante’s journey around the baseball diamond had begun. He would rotate between the infield and outfield thereafter.

“To me, he is the best utility player on the bench in the league by far,” Braves catcher David Ross said. “There is nobody even close to how good he is.”

Infante has started games at second base, third base, shortstop, right field and left field this season. He’s also played games in center field during his nine major-league seasons.

However, it wasn’t just his two gloves (infield, outfield) that earned Infante an All-Star selection this month. He is hitting a career-best .337 with two home runs and 26 RBIs in 66 games. In the six games leading up the All-Star break, Infante hit .542 (13-for-24), including an 8-for-15 stretch in the final three games against the Mets.

The numbers get better. Infante is hitting .455 (20-for-44) in July. Including Sunday’s four-hit game, he has 22 multi-hit games this season. That ranks second on the Braves to Martin Prado, the major-league hits leader. Infante delivered a game-winning, two-run single in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 4-3 win over Florida on July 2.

“When you have to switch to any position during a game, it’s hard,” Infante said with Prado serving as a translator. “At the beginning it was hard to get used to it. Now, I’m getting better and better.”

The ability to move from position to position has its roots in countless hours of batting practice, Infante said. While many players might use the time as a simple warm-up or a chance to joke around while shagging fly balls, he was all business all the time.

If he was at an infield position, he would treat every ground ball as if it were hit off a live bat. In the outfield, he would catch and throw every ball with game situations in mind.

“That has allowed me to take advantage of any opportunity to be prepared mentally to assume that kind of role,” Infante said. “If I was taking ground balls at shortstop, I was going to do it the right way. If I was taking fly balls in the outfield, I was going to do it the right way. It wasn’t about practice. It was taking that practice seriously like it was a game.”

His teammates and management are aware of what Infante means to the first-place Braves, especially the flexibility he provides for manager Bobby Cox.

“Now that I’ve played with him, I really admire him,” Braves outfielder Gregor Blanco said. “The way he plays, it’s difficult to not play for four days and then play and do so good. … Like I said to him, he’s my hero. Seriously. I want to be like him. If I’m going to be here in the big leagues, I want to be like Omar Infante.”

Infante said he prepares differently for each game, depending on whether he’s in the starting lineup or in a reserve role. If he is coming off the bench, Infante will hit several times before and during the game, in order that he will be ready when called upon.

Growing up in the port city of Puerto la Cruz, Infante took to baseball right away. His father played the game, though he never signed as a professional, and his mother was a nurse. The family attended all of his father’s games and Infante was hooked from the time he was five. Infante played basketball and soccer in high school for fun, but baseball was his first priority. By 14, a coach told him he could be a professional and a good one. He began training and working out with the coach and his older brother. Three years later, he signed with the Detroit Tigers organization as an undrafted free agent. By his fourth season in the minors, he was promoted to the majors and debuted with the Tigers. He played several positions even then.

The Braves acquired Infante, who is in the last year of his contract, in December 2007, just a month after the Tigers had traded him to the Chicago Cubs.

His All-Star selection, criticized by some, was deserved, according to teammates and management.

“We have long felt he was the best super utility guy in the National League,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said. “It’s great that he’s being recognized as such.”

Infante made the most of his All-Star experience. He brought a large contingent to that game in Los Angeles that consisted of his mother, sister, brother, mother-in-law, wife, son and two friends.

Infante plans to capitalize on his All-Star experience. He said his selection was justification of what he has accomplished and what he might do in the future.

“It was an unbelievable experience to spend two days with the best of the best in baseball,” he said. “For this, my career will change. Mentally I know I can do a lot of things. I can get to so many levels as a baseball player.”

A man of  all positions

A look at the number of games per position Braves utility player Omar Infante has appeared during his nine major-league seasons:

Second base: 281

Shortstop: 222

Third base: 96

Left field: 54

Center field: 32

Right field: 15