Ranking the Shortstops

The 1990’s and early 2000’s were the time of the shortstops. No longer were they just slick fielders. They became middle of the order hitters and MVP’s, Alex Rodriquez, Derek Jeter,Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejeda, and Barry Larkin lead the way.

♦  Most heroic, Travis ⇒
♦  Biggest overachiever, Eckstein ⇒
♦  Most disappointing career, Templeton ⇒

Shortstop Factoids:

The White Sox have had three shortstops who’ve played at least 1,500 games for them: Luke Appling, Ozzie Guillen, and Luis Aparicio… Brooklyn’s Pee Wee Reese received MVP votes in 13 of his 16 seasons… Joe Tinker is one of just three Hall of Famers who died on his birthday.

Biggest Flake

Whether he was wearing a raincoat on the field, playing pranks on his teammates, or pantomiming the motion of his pitcher, Rabbit Maranville was always entertaining on the field. He wasn’t too shabby with the glove either, which led him to the Hall of Fame.
Rabbit Maranville’s page ⇒

Quotable

“It will take Alan a couple of years to get everything together, and when he does he’ll control the game. The great shortstops all control the game.”
— Sparky Anderson, 1980