AGMVC names A-Rod king of third, shortstop up next
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by user Steaksammich
I guess I've been a little bit distracted because it's been a while, but the voting for the top ten active thirdbasemen is closed and the results can be found here. Everyone agrees that Alex Rodriguez is number 1 and most of the voters were in agreement over the rest of the 9. The weirdest thing in the voting was the fact that Christof feels that David Bell belongs on the top ten, but other than that most of the same names were on every list.
So, by now you know the drill. We go on to shortstops and we vote for the top ten active shortstops based on their ability to play the game. The voting can be found here. And to keep us busy while those results are tabulated, I give you my take on the top ten shortstops of all-time.
1. Honus Wagner - He doesn't have the MVP's or All-Star appearances because he played in a time before those things. And his home run totals aren't very impressive because of the era he played in. But Wagner is clearly head and shoulders above every other shortstop out there. He hit at least .299 or better in every year of his career until he was 40 years old and his name appears in the leaderboards more often than any other shortstop in history.
2. Alex Rodriguez - It takes most great players an entire career to pile up the numbers that A-Rod has before his 31st birthday. There are actually people out there who are so thickheaded and ignorant to think that all 429 of his homers in his career have been meaningless and that he doesn't help his team win. But there is no real arguement against this guy being one of the best players in the game today and by the time he's done he'll be one of the greatest of all time.
3. Cal Ripken - Not many of us get held so high just because we show up for work every day, but this guy played a grueling position, played it well, and never took a day off. He was a great offensive player in a time when shortstops weren't known for their offense. He topped 20 homers and 80 RBI 9 years in a row, every year in his 20's.
4. Arky Vaughan - He didn't play as long as some of the others, but he was still around for a while and he had some really great seasons. He failed to hit .300 just one year as a regular and had an OBP over .400 over the course of his career, including a .491 mark in 1935. He was a great all-around player
5.Ernie Banks - He actually played 134 more games at first than he did at short, but Bill James ranks him as a shortstop because he provided more value to his team while playing as a shortstop. In his years as a shortstop he hit at least 40 homers 5 different times, something he never accomplished after switching positions. He was never a threat for the batting title, didn't take a ton of walks, and his defense detiorated to the point where he had to be shifted to first, but the guy could hit the longball.
6. Barry Larkin - There will be a debate in a few years about this guy and if he belongs in the Hall of Fame. It should be a pretty heated discussion. He was a great basestealer and provided some power. His AVG hovered around .300 every year and his batting eye improved as he aged leading him to take more walks. He's a very well rounded player who didn't have many weaknesses.
7. Robin Yount - We know him more as an outfielder, but he started his career as a shortstop and played close to 1500 games there compared to 1200 in the outfield. He topped 20 homers just 4 times and with the exception of a few seasons he wasn't a huge offensive threat, but he helped his team win for a long time.
8. Ozzie Smith - Can a guy with a 28 career homers and a .328 career SLG really be considered one of the greatest at anything? Well, when his defense is as good as Ozzie's he can be. I still feel that his election into the Hall of Fame is very questionable though. Sure, his defense was great and he played at a premium position but how many hits did he take away with plays that a guy like Ripken or Larkin wouldn't have made? A lot, I'm sure, but not nearly enough to make up for such a lack of power.
9. Joe Cronin - He didn't put up impressive home run totals, but thanks to a .300 AVG and a lot of doubles and triples he still managed to top a .500 SLG and 100 RBI's quite a few times. In 1932 he hit just 6 homers, but still managed 116 RBI and a .492 SLG, both impressive numbers. He topped 20 homers just once, but 100 RBI 8 times.
10. Derek Jeter - If you are one of those who believes that Jeter is one of the greatest ball players of all time or that he is better than A-Rod then please don't even bother to comment. It's those kind of asenine comments that take a great player like Jeter and turn him into one of the most over-rated stars in the game. He's a great player. No one will deny that. But he is not in the same class as A-Rod and he while he may one day pass them, he still hasn't approached guys like Ripken, Banks, or even Larkin and Cronin in terms of greatness.
Lou Boudrea and Alan Trammell just missed the list.
Date
Mon 06/19/06, 5:45 am EST
