BOSTON -- Teams talk versatility, but the Dodgers can claim record-breaking versatility. They are the first team in history with three players to start at least 45 games in the infield and the outfield in the same season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez are wearing out their glove manufacturers. Bellinger, who was named Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series, opened the season as a defending NL Rookie of the Year first baseman and now is the primary center fielder for the NL champions. Taylor replaced the injured Corey Seager at shortstop at the end of April, but he is now etched in postseason history for an epic catch as a left fielder. Hernandez has simply done everything this year but crouch behind the plate.
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There's no telling where they will be in the lineup for Game 1 of the World Series against the Red Sox tonight at Fenway Park, and that could even include the bench.
Platooning must work, because the Dodgers have reached the Fall Classic two years running with essentially different lineups depending on pitching matchups. But platooning also gnaws at the psyche of players who consider themselves worthy of everyday at-bats.
"It was hard at first, but once everybody got used to the system and how things work here is when we turned the season around," said Hernandez, who manager Dave Roberts has said might have been the club MVP this year.
"Having two lineups is not easy. But would you rather have one lineup sitting at home, or two lineups playing in the World Series? We know all of our position players could be starting for just about any team. But at the end of the day, when a team wins a World Series, you've got to sacrifice something, and that's something we're willing to live with."
Multi-skilled players provide Roberts with the flexibility to counter opposing relievers with favorable hitting matchups and double-switches to make more efficient use of the bullpen, not to mention unpredictable starting lineups. Modern managing, driven by analytics designed to extract incremental advantages, is complicated, but Roberts embraces deploying his weapons.
"Information is so prevalent now," said Roberts, who used 155 starting lineups in 163 games. "And so when you have a player who is versatile and you don't lose anything on the defensive side, it just gives you more flexibility, and now you're talking about guys that can handle right- or left-handed pitching.
"For our club to be able to move Chris Taylor, [Hernandez] around, Player Page for Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, it's freed me up to do a lot of different things as far as when a pitcher's spot is coming up, or how I want to get a particular matchup in our favor."
Bellinger and Taylor, both infielders in April, made spectacular outfield catches in the NLCS.

"Last year with so many everyday players, I just wanted to get on the field any way I could, so it was easy for me to buy in, I just wanted to play," said Taylor, who also led the club with a .364 batting average in the NLCS. "At heart, I consider myself a shortstop, it's where I grew up playing and it's my favorite position. But being able to play the outfield has me in the World Series for the second straight year."
Taylor and Bellinger will be playing the quirky Fenway Park outfield for the first time tonight, and Taylor said he will take shagging very seriously to get comfortable with the Green Monster in left field. Bellinger said he noticed all the nooks and crannies of Fenway's unique center field watching the Red Sox in the postseason.

"It definitely came to mind," said Bellinger, whose walk-off single won Game 4 in the NLCS and whose homer aided the Game 7 clincher. "I'll take as many reps as I can during batting practice, throw balls against the wall to see how they bounce. I would say San Francisco is probably the closest to this center field. I'll adjust. I love playing center."