Baseball's Greatest Shortstops

The Best at The Key Position

Jul 4, 2008

Great shortstops have been key to many baseball championships. They have done it with the bat, the glove, spirit, or leadership. The best have done it with all of them.

The Ingredients

Of the twenty-one shortstops elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame thus far, only six finished with career batting averages above .300. Only two could be rated as consistent home run threats. Four rank among the highest base stealers.

So it would appear that the greatest contributions of this group have been made in the field. And the necessity of ranging over the territory between second and third bases, racing to the outfield and beyond the foul line for pop flies, and being involved in most double plays would certainly call for an agile and sure-handed fielder. The Hall of Famers, as well as many more competent shortstops, have met those requirements. The true standouts have also acquired reputations for hustle and the ability to inspire their teammates.

Other thanthe pitcher and catcher, who must plan and execute every pitch, the shortstop is most responsible for reacting to the developing action. He must position himself based on the hitter's strengths, he must be ready to cover second base with runners on base, and he must sense when the pitcher needs encouragement or a breather.

The GreatsIn the first half of the 20th century, there was little argument that Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates was in a class by himself. Possessor of a .327 lifetime batting average and eight National League batting titles, he also stole over 700 bases, by far the most of any Hall of Fame shortstop. He was considered a fine fielder and a leader on several pennant winners.

However, Wagner finished his career in 1917, far too early for today's oldest observers to be able to compare his fielding and inspirational qualities to those of, say, Baltimore's Cal Ripken, baseball's "Iron Man" with 2,632 consecutive appearances, a lifetime average of .276 and 431 home runs. Or to the Chicago Cubs' Ernie Banks, like Ripken a two-time Most Valuable Player, and the holder of the Hall of Fame shortstops home run record at 512.

Since many observers consider fielding far more important than hitting for a shortstop, there are those that rate the St. Louis Cardinals' Ozzzie Smith at the top. Their argument would be that the runs prevented by his spectacular fielding and facilitated by his 500-plus stolen bases, over a season's time, outweighed the runs produced by even the best-hitting shortstops. Luis Aparicio of the Chicago White Sox has supporters for the same reasons.

Current superstar Alex Rodriguez, with well above 500 home runs already, moved to third base when he joined the Yankees and his friend Derek Jeter. Nevertheless, there are those who believe that the Hall of Fame-quality numbers he put up while playing a brilliant shortstop for Seattle and Texas entitle him to first place at his earlier position. Hall of Famer Robin Yount had ten outstanding years at shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers before an injury forced him to the outfield. Among the recently retired, Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds will get serious Hall of Fame consideration for his superior hitting-fielding-stolen base combination.

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