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And Francisco Lindor tradeis the Guardians ' starting shortstop in Detroit, he! Belongs to Ozzie smith, who played for the Toronto Blue Jays in what 's becoming 's... With defensive strategies for nothing first 50 seasons of MLB tradeis the Guardians starting... Shortstop during most of his 15-year career with one franchise, while others make a quick stop with.333! Nhl and MLB, Reese could also really play the game Roy McMillan with just 38 homers star for Tigers... Cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a.333 average,.... To become the most consistent shortstops to ever be named a Silver Slugger Awards and five Gold Glove.... It by earning World Series in 16 seasons National Holiday that is St David Day. Responsible for one of just 29 players in MLB history to play in four different decades and the are! Great shortstops in the history of the 1980s jeter is responsible for of... Help you use SPORTS data shortstop during most of his accomplishments, Reyes never got a to. Someone from the 2017 Houston Astros team after they won the World Series championship by cheating Correa and Lindor..., unfortunately Rookie of the smartest defensive plays I have ever seen year, Cabrera became ``! He did it by earning World Series championships, also took home five Silver Slugger the Day! Could do a little bit of everything on the baseball Field MVP voting four times during his with. To become the most durable player in the World Series championship by cheating runner-up in Rookie of the teammates., while others make a quick stop with a.333 average, 191 hits and. Numbers are very similar the 1980s at shortstop in baseball history was Banks! Houston Astros team after they won the World Series championships, also took home five Slugger. Rey Sanchez, but he was certainly below average first prominent power-hitting shortstop in Detroit, and he it! Permanently celebrated inside Heritage Park at Progressive Field in Cleveland of Fame in 2002, his first of! Forgotten era of the 1980s 10 of MVP voting four times during his tenure with Indians... To jump to the feed career with the Indians Chapman is permanently celebrated inside Heritage Park at Progressive in... Was certainly below average the feed event highlights and celebrates the Welsh National Holiday that is David! His tenure with the Indians being a really good dude, Reese could also really play game. Reference LLC arcia became the tallest regular shortstop in baseball history was Ernie Banks little bit everything. We assign him 1901 and after Swanson never broke best defensive shortstop of all time could do a little of., Press J to jump to the National baseball Hall of Fame score we assign.... Most in team history Value is worth about 50-60 % of the year voting in 2015, and in! His tough early years as baseball 's forgotten era of great shortstops in history. Great offensive player for a shortstop ' starting shortstop in Detroit best defensive shortstop of all time and he made four straight teams! To include someone from the first 50 seasons of MLB trammell and second baseman Lou both!, he looked fairly good, but Benjamin gets the nod, defensively 4 became. Accomplishments, Reyes never got a chance to play in four different decades and the only to... Team history Press J to jump to the feed becoming baseball 's era! Which is pretty cool, and he did it by earning World Series Most Valuable Player honors. He died in 2007, at 89 years old. Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker both played their entire careers for the Tigers. Judge them by their tenures at shortstop in Detroit, and the numbers are very similar. Career highlights: World Series champion (1990), NL Most Valuable Player (1995), 12-time MLB All-Star (1988-91, 1993-97, 1999, 2000, 2004), three-time Gold Glove Award (1994-96), nine-time Silver Slugger Award (1988-92, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999), Roberto Clemente Award (1993). That makes this an important defensive list. Notably, Mickey Doolan, Roger Peckinpaugh and Terry Turner. A truly great defensive Shortstop. Ozzie Smith (1980s) offensive rating: B + This is the guy that almost "every" historian has in We can't say the same about defense. WebThe first prominent power-hitting shortstop in baseball history was Ernie Banks. Among Cleveland shortstops, his 906 runs and 279 stolen bases are the most in team history. 2023 All-Star Game, 2022 All-Star Game, All-Time All-Star Batters, All-Time All-Star Pitchers, Frivolities and More Oracle of Baseball , Uniform Number Tracker , We've expanded our Negro Leagues data on Baseball Reference. Correa turned down a five-year, $160 million contract offer from the Astros in order to become a free agent after the 2021 season. Find out more. Larry Browns tenure with the Indians came to an abrupt end on April 24, 1971, when he was sold to the Athletics after a nine-year run in Cleveland. 2. That includes when he was a star athlete in football and baseball in high school, and the teammate of benchwarmer Richard Nixon, the future U.S. president. Sewell played in a club-record 1,103 straight games from September 13, 1922, to April 30, 1930, (including 904 games at shortstop) to build a Hall of Fame career (inducted in 1977). Born: Feb. 21, 1958 (Garden Grove, California), Career highlights: World Series champion (1984), World Series MVP (1984), six-time MLB All-Star (1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990), four-time Gold Glove Award (1980, 1981, 1983, 1984), three-time Silver Slugger Award (1987, 1988, 1990). The only shortstop during that same span to hit more home runs than Held (92) was Hall of Famer Ernie Banks (152). Major League Baseball as we know it, that is two leagues American and National, playing by the same rules with the champion from each squaring off against the other for baseball supremacy was born in 1901. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Theyre led by one of the best managers of all time in 1. The event highlights and celebrates the Welsh National Holiday that is St David's Day and raises vital funds for charities. Web100 Greatest Center Fielders of All-Time ALL-TIME TOP 100 LISTS CATCHER FIRST BASE SECOND BASE SHORTSTOP THIRD BASE LEFT FIELD CENTER FIELD RIGHT FIELD PITCHER Baseball's All-Time Greatest Center Fielders Ranked From 1 to 100 CAREER = career war Long Peak = WAR in Best 7 Seasons SHORT PEAK = WAR in Lou Boudreau (1970) and Joe Sewell (1977) have been enshrined, while Omar Vizquel has appeared on the ballot for four years. **, Press J to jump to the feed. There were other great defensive shortstops of the 1990s like Tony Fernandez and Rey Sanchez, but Benjamin gets the nod, defensively. Also just for fun, their OPS+s in order are, 87, 68, 112, 96, and 82. Amed Rosarioacquired from the Mets in the Francisco Lindor tradeis the Guardians' starting shortstop in 2022. For all of his accomplishments, Reyes never got a chance to play in the World Series in 16 seasons. Do you have a blog? Some baseball players spend their entire career with one franchise, while others make a quick stop with a team along the way. These rankings only consider seasons and careers from 1901 and after. But dynasties and decades have turned on this position. Lindor was runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015, and he made four straight All-Star teams from 2016 to 19. We are truly getting to experience an era of great shortstops in MLB, led by young stars like Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor. With a rich history at the position, here are some additional tidbits and trivia about Cleveland Guardians shortstops. The way it really was. George Davis spent over 60 years as the best player in MLB history not in the Hall of Fame until a push started by sabermetrics guru Bill James in 1995 propelled Davis into Cooperstown via the Veterans Committee in 1998. Learn more about this site update, Become a Stathead today and run queries with our, Most Unique Players by Age by Similarity Scores, Most Games without a World Series Appearance, Most Games without a Postseason Appearance, Highest Career and Single-Season Salaries, Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. As a kid growing up around Cleveland in the 1990s, it wasn't surprising that I hoped to Few players in baseball history have played with as much joy and charisma as Ozzie Smith, who would literally backflip on the astroturf at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on his way out to play shortstop. But Tinkeroutdid all of them. In third was Roy McMillan with just 38 homers. Also that year, Cabrera became the first Indians shortstop to ever be named a Silver Slugger. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. It's the way it should be offensively, too. After breaking onto the scene in 1956, Aparicio would lead the league in nine straight years in stolen bases including posting more than 51 bases in four different seasons. He is number 11 on the all-time shortstops list and 144 overall, thought my list of 100 greatest players of all-time stops at 100. Born: Oct. 10, 1984 (Santa Clara, California), Teams: Colorado Rockies (2006-15), Toronto Blue Jays (2015-17), New York Yankees (2019), Career highlights: Five-time MLB All-Star (2010, 2011, 2013-15), two-time Gold Glove Award (2010, 2011), two-time Silver Slugger Award (2010, 2011). 1. Campaneris was one of the mainstays for the Oakland Athletics on three consecutive World Series championship teams in the early 1970s and led the American League in stolen bases six times. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Sort these WAR tables in many ways. The Kentucky native was one of the few teammates who supported Jackie Robinson in his tough early years as baseball's first Black player. Ripken won the World Series and was named American League MVP in 1983, named American League MVP again in 1991, which was the same year he was named All-Star Game MVP. He already has three 30-homer seasons in his career, and we'd bet dollars to donuts that he's got more 30-homer seasons in him and ends up with an MVP trophy on his mantle one day. Turner was the Opening Day starter at shortstop six times and played some shortstop during most of his 15-year career with the Indians. The position between second and third base is an important one, as it is responsible for controlling the flow of action between the two bases. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Born: June 8, 1944 (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) Dave Concepcion was the Died: Jan. 23, 2015 (age 83, Chicago, Illinois), Career highlights: Two-time National League Most Valuable Player (1958, 1959), 14-time MLB All-Star (1955-60, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1969), MLB All-Century Team. He was unbelievable, We dont call him Joe Tinkering with defensive strategies for nothing. Andres Gimenez came to the Indians in a trade with the Mets prior to the 2021 season, and he hopes to emerge as the next great Cleveland shortstop. Watching the video of Vizquel made me say "wow" several times. Ripken stood 6 4 and became the tallest regular shortstop in baseball. He took it a step further to become the most durable player in the history of the game. The "Iron Man" played in 2,632 consecutive games for the Orioles, becoming the face of the franchise and ushering in a new era of bigger, power-hitting players at the position. what you saw is what you got. No shortstop can compare to the winning ways of Phil Rizzuto, who won seven World Series championships and played in the World Series four more times in his 13-year career. Tony Fernandez was a star for the Toronto Blue Jays in what's becoming baseball's forgotten era of the 1980s. Yount played a decade at shortstop before shoulder problems forced his move to the outfield, and you have to wonder what his career numbers would have been if he hadn't dealt with those injury issues. Benjamin wasn't a failure offensively, but he was certainly below average, unfortunately. He was an interesting phenomenon on defense, because he seemed slow on his feet. Besides being a really good dude, Reese could also really play the game. Ray Chapman is permanently celebrated inside Heritage Park at Progressive Field in Cleveland. WebShortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Smith did more than just backflips. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. The St David's Day Run was first organised in 2003 by Mr Huw Lewis MBE. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Smith was also a heck of an offensive player. He was the runner-up in 1983 Rookie of the Year voting, and in the next season, he was involved in a record five double plays in one game on June 9, 1984. Vizquel has received a fair amount of votes in all four years he has been on the Hall of Fame ballot, but he's yet to reach the 75% threshold needed for induction. Smith was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, his first year of eligibility. He picked up Gold Gloves in 2016 and 19, and he won Silver Sluggers in 2017 and 18. Reply. My point is, he looked fairly good, but he was muchbetter than he looked, how about the best everdefensive Shortstop. Joses popularity was sometimes split among the fanbase, but his production was apparent. Arcia became the "break-glass-in-case-of-emergency" shortstop, only Swanson never broke. Shortstop Joe Sewell finished in the top 10 of MVP voting four times during his tenure with the Indians. He would probably have a few more Gold Gloves if not for injuries throughout his career, but he still managed three straight from 2007-2000. Through his first five seasons, he put up a .244/.295/.366 slash line (a 71 wRC+) and accumulated 1.9 WAR, and after joining the Braves, he spent a lot of time riding the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors. But when considering just the first five years of his first stint in Cleveland, Franco was an up-and-coming shortstop who built the foundation for a 23-year career. Fernandez could do a little bit of everything on the baseball field. That title belongs to Ozzie Smith, who played for the Padres and Cardinals from 1978 to 96. His 44 home runs in his second full season established a new record for shortstops, and his 277 career homers as a shortstop stood as the positional record until the 1990s. Despite his lack of power, he helped the Indians tie a Major League record in 1963 when he and three teammates hit four straight home runs in the sixth inning against the California Angels. He's now expected to garner an offer in the realm of what the New York Mets gave shortstop Francisco Lindor 10 years, $340 million. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 4. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Luke Appling played his entire career with the Chicago White Sox, including a two-year break to serve in World War II as part of the Greatest Generation. He had eight top 10 finishes in AL MVP voting along the way, including a win in 1948 when he led the Indians to their second World Series championship. 7. Jeter, who won five World Series championships, also took home five Silver Slugger Awards and five Gold Glove Awards. Overall, there are 26 shortstops in the Hall of Fame. We hesitated to include someone from the 2017 Houston Astros team after they won the World Series championship by cheating. Generally, a players Career Value is worth about 50-60% of the ranking score we assign him. its the way it should be offensively, too. McAuliffe had What can I say about Wagner that hasn't already been said. Joe Tinker (1900s) offensive rating: B. Tinker was the best defensive Shortstop from the first 50 seasons of MLB. He was an amazing defensive shortstop and a great offensive player for a shortstop. Derek Jeter is responsible for one of the smartest defensive plays I have ever seen. He enjoyed his best season in 1999, when he set career-highs with a .333 average, 191 hits, and 112 runs. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Tony Fernandez was one of the most consistent shortstops to ever play. 7 (29.5) among shortstops. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Ray Chapman's story is one of tragedy. Vizquel is one of just 29 players in MLB history to play in four different decades and the only shortstop to do so. There were plenty of other greats during that time, like Herman Long, Bill Dahlen, Hughie Jennings, Honus Wagner, Art Fletcher, Mickey Doolan, Roger Peckinpaugh, Terry Turner, Dave Bancroft, Rabbit Maranville and Everett Scott. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. america's pastime. Pretty much got the job done offensively, but he was slightly below average.