Chris Cutliff Is Chapman’s Man of Many Fields

Chris Cutliff says he still thinks of himself as an infielder, but he is getting used to being an outfielder for the Chapman College baseball team.

Not necessarily a left fielder or a right fielder. Just an outfielder. He will play wherever Chapman Coach Mike Weathers wants him to play.

When Chapman (18-13-1 overall and 7-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.) takes the field at Cal State Dominguez Hills (11-16, 2-7) for today’s 2:30 p.m. game, Cutliff will start in left field, because Dominguez Hills will be starting left-hander Joe Lacus.

If Dominguez Hills started a right-hander, Cutliff would move to right.

Cutliff switches because (1) he has the ability to play both positions and (2) left fielder Troy Barnhart and right fielder Paul Swingle platoon with each other.

But moving left or right isn’t as great an adjustment as moving back was for Cutliff.

He was a shortstop at Foothill High School, but Weathers wanted someone who could play several positions when he recruited Cutliff.

“We told him that we might move him (to the outfield),” Weathers said. “He was a football defensive back, so we knew that he was an athlete.”

Cutliff, a sophomore who also has played first base in a couple of games this season, agreed to play wherever Weathers wanted him to.

“His arm is better suited for left field than right, but to be fair, he probably shouldn’t be in the outfield,” Weathers said. “I don’t know if he’ll go back (to the infield) because we haven’t found a place for him.”

The two infield positions at which Cutliff is most experienced appear to be taken.

Shortstop Jeff Kidwiler is a junior batting .387 overall and .452 in conference play. At first base, sophomore Mike Grahovac is hitting .372.

Junior Tony Gardea, who batted .330 last season, probably will stay at third the rest of this season, although his average dropped to .231, and freshman Steve Pickering has taken over second base.

Despite his .967 fielding percentage in the outfield, Cutliff says he is not completely comfortable.

“I didn’t think (the move to the outfield) would be permanent,” Cutliff said. (He played in 39 of 55 games, mostly as an outfielder, last season.) “I’d still like to play the infield.”

But Weathers would just like him to continue playing the way he has.

Cutliff, who is 6-feet 2-inches tall and weighs 175 pounds, leads Chapman with 6 home runs and a .557 slugging percentage. His 21 RBIs are second on the team. About all Weathers expected Cutliff to do was bat second, lay down a bunt or two and make contact when leadoff batter Bryan Beals gets on base.

“He usually makes good contact, and he’s got good speed,” Weathers said. “If the leadoff man doesn’t get on base, he’s got the speed and the bat to be like another leadoff hitter.”

Again, Cutliff said he feels out of position.

“I’d like to hit fifth or sixth because it’s more comfortable for me,” he said. “But batting second is OK.”

Still, Cutliff is more concerned with how he is hitting than where he is hitting. Hampered by an ankle injury, he hit only .172 in the first seven games. Then he started to pick things up.

Cutliff raised his average to .321 by putting together a nine-game hitting streak, and he had hits in 19 of the 20 games since the first seven.

On March 9, he started to put power into his swing. Although he hit only two home runs in the first 23 games, Cutliff knocked out four in the next seven. He didn’t hit a home run in his 89 at-bats last season.

“I think six home runs is real good for a kid who’s a sophomore,” Weathers said. “If he gets 10 for the season, that will be a great year for him.”