When Brendan Ryan was growing up in Los Angeles, he began to notice that whenever he went to a baseball tryout, there was a parade of players lined up to take ground balls at shortstop.
After a while, his father had a suggestion: Tell them you’re a second baseman.
Soon, Ryan, with his slick glove, stood out and gained a reputation in high school as one of the best second basemen in the area. It also reinforced an important lesson: Recognize where opportunities exist.
Ryan, who has been kept off the field by a string of injuries this season, surely understood that his opportunities were fleeting when the Yankees recently sent the second-base prospect Rob Refsnyder back to the minor leagues only because he had options remaining.