MLB's 10 Greatest Shortstops of All Time

[TheNamelessPoet]

Honestly... and this is from a Jeter HATER... he is a HOFer NOW

 Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP 
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 1995 21 NYY AL  15   48    5   12   4  1   0    7   0  0   3  11  .250  .294  .375   74   18   0   0   0   0   0
 1996 22 NYY AL 157  582  104  183  25  6  10   78  14  7  48 102  .314  .370  .430  101  250   6   9   1   9  13 RoY-1
 1997 23 NYY AL 159  654  116  190  31  7  10   70  23 12  74 125  .291  .370  .405  103  265   8   2   0  10  14 MVP-24
 1998 24 NYY AL 149  626  127  203  25  8  19   84  30  6  57 119  .324  .384  .481  127  301   3   3   1   5  13 MVP-3,AS
 1999 25 NYY AL 158  627  134  219  37  9  24  102  19  8  91 116  .349  .438  .552  153  346   3   6   5  12  12 MVP-6,AS
 2000 26 NYY AL 148  593  119  201  31  4  15   73  22  4  68  99  .339  .416  .481  128  285   3   3   4  12  14 MVP-10,AS
 2001 27 NYY AL 150  614  110  191  35  3  21   74  27  3  56  99  .311  .377  .480  123  295   5   1   3  10  13 MVP-10,AS
 2002 28 NYY AL 157  644  124  191  26  0  18   75  32  3  73 114  .297  .373  .421  111  271   3   3   2   7  14 AS
 2003 29 NYY AL 119  482   87  156  25  3  10   52  11  5  43  88  .324  .393  .450  125  217   3   1   2  13  10 MVP-21
 2004 30 NYY AL 154  643  111  188  44  1  23   78  23  4  46  99  .292  .352  .471  114  303  16   2   1  14  19 MVP-13,AS
 2005 31 NYY AL 159  654  122  202  25  5  19   70  14  5  77 117  .309  .389  .450  125  294   7   3   3  11  15 MVP-10
 2006 32 NYY AL 154  623  118  214  39  3  14   97  34  5  69 102  .343  .417  .483  132  301   7   4   4  12  13 SS,MVP-2,AS
 2007 33 NYY AL 156  639  102  206  39  4  12   73  15  8  56 100  .322  .388  .452  121  289   3   2   3  14  21 SS,MVP-11,AS
 2008 34 NYY AL 150  596   88  179  25  3  11   69  11  5  52  85  .300  .363  .408  102  243   7   4   0   9  24 SS,AS
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 14 Seasons         8025      2535     57     1002     75    1376  .316  .387  .458  120       74  43  29 138 195
               1985      1467      411    206      275    813                            3678
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 162 Game Avg        655  120  207  34  5  17   82  22  6  66 112  .316  .387  .458  120  300   6   4   2  11  16
 Career High    159  654  134  219  44  9  24  102  34 12  91 125  .349  .438  .552  153  346  16   9   5  14  24

I wouldn't put him top 10 my any means but... he has been a very good hitter in a position that is not know for hitting. will have 250 HR and 250 Steals which is not to shabby for a SS. Also I guarentee they take into acount leadership... and how many other guys have led their teams like he has.

also not many people can average 200 hits for 14 years .38 OBP is also very good

[bucher34]

He's great offensively, but he's not a top 10 if we are talking about all-around. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be a first ballot, but his defense is and always was below average.

[dps]

Honestly... and this is from a Jeter HATER... he is a HOFer NOW

I wouldn't call myself a Jeter hater, but I do think that he's over-rated. Still, I agree that if he were to retire right now for some reason, he'd still merit induction to the Hall based on what he's already done.

[HoustonGM]

That doesn't mean that ALL of this counts

Never said that.

Only what he achieved as a SS

I would say it does depend on exactly how you're ranking them, but it's a semantics issue.

I would say Jeter is a great Yankee more than a great Shortstop.

He's a great shortstop.

agreed, if he gets 3000 hits tho he wil be a HOF and therefore have to be considered among the greats when discussing great ss...

He is and should be a HOFer even if he retires today.

[CatKnight]

Interesting that 4 or 5 of these 'best SS of all time' are MODERN players .... 1990s or 2000s. That's enough to make the list suspicious in my eyes.

[reflections]

Wagner behind A-Rod?
Wagner would of been a beast of a home run hitter in this era.

I also think many of the early shortstops in the turn of the century, get discounted cause of the perceived lack of great defense. I would love to have seen Ozzie Smith or Omar Vizquel play with the gloves they played with back then.

[Wassit3]

Are we talking all-around or just offensive?

Oh I am not going to open up THAT can of worms , I will say this tho, in my opinion a HOFer is great by definition

[Wassit3]

Wagner behind A-Rod?
Wagner would of been a beast of a home run hitter in this era.

I also think many of the early shortstops in the turn of the century, get discounted cause of the perceived lack of great defense. I would love to have seen Ozzie Smith or Omar Vizquel play with the gloves they played with back then.

I totally agree with both parts of your statement even tho, in another thread where we were discussing how good any hitter from that era would or would not be today, I think Wagner might not be quiet as good overall as he was in his day vs. todays players I do think hewould probably still be pretty dang good and a power hitter...

[HoustonGM]

I also think many of the early shortstops in the turn of the century, get discounted cause of the perceived lack of great defense. I would love to have seen Ozzie Smith or Omar Vizquel play with the gloves they played with back then.

Bill Dahlen is victim of this. Great defensive shortstop around the turn-of-the-century PLUS had a solid bat. He should be in the Hall and is one of the best shortstops to ever play, but he's not, and is ALWAYS overlooked.

[RedsoxRockies]

I like Bill James list better then the Hall of Merits, as I feel Larkin is a bordeline hall of famer potentially, and one of the better SS to play.

[justanewguy]

I thought this was an interesting knock on Vizquel:

"10. Omar Vizquel

Vizquel is the second greatest defensive shortstop behind the great Ozzie Smith. In his 20-year career with the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, and San Francisco Giants, he has won eleven gold glove awards and was selected to the three All Star teams. He has a .273 career average along with 77 home runs, 892 RBI's, 1361 runs scored, 2657 base hits and 385 stolen bases. However, he could never win a championship, losing in 1995 and 1997 with the Cleveland Indians. "

I think it's more interesting that they neglected to mention he's played more games at short than anybody in the history of the game.

[cartman00000001]

Jeter belongs in the top 10 but I take Cal over A-Rod

[TheNamelessPoet]

wow

[HoustonGM]

I like Bill James list better then the Hall of Merits, as I feel Larkin is a bordeline hall of famer potentially, and one of the better SS to play.

Larkin hasn't yet been inducted to the Hall of Merit because he hasn't been retired long enough. He'll be on their ballot, AND will definitely get in next year.

[Wassit3]

Jeter belongs in the top 10 but I take Cal over A-Rod