PEORIA, Ariz. -- Wil Myers did his homework after coming to San Diego from Tampa Bay by trade in December. His research didn't end with questions about the best restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter or tips on how to land a tee time at Torrey Pines.
Any conversation with Myers about the transition to his new team inevitably includes a reference to his ability to handle the vast expanse in center field at Petco Park. It's followed by an eye roll from Myers and a tone of voice that suggests this line of inquiry is quite tired, not to mention factually inaccurate.
"I've heard that a thousand times,'' Myers said. "Petco is not that big. It's actually 15th out of 30 teams in square footage.''
Myers is on the right track, even if his list is in slight need of revision. With an expanse of 92,400 square feet, Petco ranks 16th in outfield square footage among the 30 MLB teams, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Padres have moved in the fences twice over the past two seasons, knocking the ballpark down a peg in the rankings.
Hair-splitting aside, the implication is clear: Myers is convinced he will be fine in center field, and he takes issue with the conventional wisdom that he, Matt Kemp and Justin Upton will not fare well as a defensive combination at Petco. Myers thinks the critics are either lazy, ill-informed or simply looking for ways to nitpick San Diego general manager A.J. Preller and his flurry of offseason activity.
"With everything A.J. has done, people are going to question something,'' Myers said. "And that's what they're questioning -- our defense. But I know me, Matt and Justin are dead set on proving people wrong.
"People have this stereotype of a center fielder, and I don't necessarily fit the center-field mold. I know everybody has an image of what a center fielder should look like. I'm going to try to change that image.''
Lost season
As a rule, professional athletes are conditioned to feign disinterest over negative portrayals in the media. For years, the classic knee-jerk response was, "I don't read the papers." Now that response applies to chat boards, mainstream websites, statistically-oriented sites or social media outlets. The easiest way for a player to avoid introspection or appear detached is to claim, "I don't monitor the Internet."
Myers, 24, is refreshingly candid in that regard. He is friendly and forthcoming, but clearly miffed by some opinions making the rounds. It's not far off-base to suggest he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder.
Experience can be a cruel teacher, and Myers knows how it feels to be hyped, disassembled under a microscope and then reassembled as an entity he doesn't recognize. In 2012, he hit 37 homers in two minor league stops in Kansas City's organization and was hailed as one of baseball's up-and-coming sluggers. Even when the Royals sent him to Tampa Bay in a stunning trade for James Shields, all was right in Myers' world. He hit .293 with an .831 OPS and won the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year award in Tampa Bay despite appearing in a mere 88 games.
But 2014 was a mess. Injuries to both wrists sapped Myers' power, and he hit only six home runs and slugged .320 in 325 at-bats. The Rays moved Myers in a three-way trade with the Padres and Washington Nationals, and now he's walking a fine line between using his down year as motivation and thinking the world is aligned against him.
"I'm not going to say I don't read things, because I do," Myers said. "I know the media has to write articles, and sometimes they have to be controversial so people will read them. I get it. It's their job. But I know it's not the truth from my end.
"I heard somebody say, 'He'll never be able to hit a slider.' That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It's like I'm not a good player anymore for some reason."
The Padres are convinced they are getting a complete player in Myers. He has god-given power and a plus arm, and he showed enough aptitude as a pure hitter to post a .299/.389/.522 slash line in almost 2,000 minor league at-bats. Myers is also a long-strider with deceptive speed, even if it's not reflected in his stolen base totals.
Just as important, Myers possesses an edge that makes him think he can do damage against elite pitching. He does not lack for self-assurance.
"If you watch him take batting practice, the ball comes off his bat hot," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who was with Myers in Tampa Bay in 2013 and '14. "He thinks he's really good, so even when he's going badly, he has a way of talking himself into thinking, 'It's going to be OK.' I liked the guy a lot. I wouldn't bet against him."
Dale Murphy Jr.?
Myers broke into pro ball as a catcher. But he also started 100 games in center field in the minors, so he is not a complete novice at the position. Questions about his ability to play center stem in part from his 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame. Myers doesn't fit the classic description of a rangy long-strider (i.e., Garry Maddox or Devon White) or a diminutive blazer from the Michael Bourn-Kenny Lofton school. If he has a comparable in terms of stature and tools, it's former two-time Atlanta Braves MVP Dale Murphy, who also entered pro ball as a catcher before finding sanctuary in center.
In San Diego's camp, outfield coach Dave Roberts and Myers have maintained a running dialogue on the fine art of center-field play. Rather than open wide in his stance and use a drop step, Myers is more comfortable with the hop, spin and turn approach. A quick first step and astute positioning will go a long way toward helping him navigate NL center fields while he acquaints himself with backgrounds, fences and other nuances that make each park unique.
When Myers came to San Diego for a visit over the winter, he watched video with Roberts and explained his desire to be more than just a right-handed slugger playing center field by default. Last year in Tampa Bay, Myers finished 28th among MLB right fielders in the Baseball Info Solutions rankings with a defensive runs saved of minus-7. But he's immersed himself in the center-field challenge with enough zeal that Roberts is convinced he can do the job.
"When you have a very good athlete with the will to work and get better, those are two very nice components," Roberts said. "He sees the ball off the bat really well and he's taking charge out there vocally in the outfield. I was looking for that leadership. All the tools are there. I just didn't realize his breaks to the ball would be as good as they are."
Naturally, the more Myers produces at the plate, the more wiggle room he'll have in his defensive learning curve. The wrists are healthy this spring, and he's back to swinging aggressively, sans batting gloves. He comes across as a player who is intent on revamping the public perception.
"He's loose and confident," Padres manager Bud Black said. "I can sense that after being traded twice as a young player and hearing some of the things he's heard, he wants to show people the type of player he is. I've told him, 'It's all well and good to prove something, but you're playing for the San Diego Padres. You're playing for your teammates, and that should be the focus of your performance -- not proving anybody wrong.'"
Once the initial edge subsides and Myers settles into a comfort zone, he'll have every opportunity to show that 2014 was a just a bad blip in his upward trajectory. It's not a question of proving everybody wrong. He just needs to show the Padres they were right.