Gordon advises Rangers' Desmond on position change

Ian Desmond is quickly learning the difficulties of playing left field.

The former All-Star shortstop - who committed to switching positions when he signed a one-year, $8-million deal with the Texas Rangers just before spring training - is far from the first player to try and make the mid-career change. Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon traded in his third-base glove for that of an outfielder's nearly six years ago and never looked back, quickly emerging as a perennial Gold Glover at the position.

Texas and Kansas City share a spring complex in Surprise, Ariz., which allowed Gordon to offer his neighbor some friendly advice on how to smooth his transition.

"You have to keep a good mind about it,'' Gordon told Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News. "The biggest part is accepting it and having a positive attitude about it.

"You have to keep working at it. There will be mistakes, but you'll get there."

Gordon, who had to quickly learn the outfield during a demotion to Triple-A in the middle of 2010, explained that a drill called "power shagging" - where he practiced catching fly balls at game speed - eventually made him ease into the position.

Desmond, who's had a mixed spring with the glove to date, was happy to take advice from his compatriot, but would prefer to learn his new position through experiencing in-game situations.

"It's more practice, and that's what I'm looking for,'' Desmond said. "Get more reps and have difficult situations thrown at me.

"I have to believe in myself," he continued. "That's only going to come through game situations and work. I want to feel comfortable out there."