We at Sox and Dawgs decided to start taking a look at some current players to see if they could gain election to Hall of Fame. In this series, we’re going to look at players who are currently active who have reasonable consideration to be a Hall nominee. This isn’t a science and you may have others on your list that we left off. There are some fine young players who are just starting their careers who may have Hall potential but for arguments sake these are for guys who have been around a bit or those few outstanding younger players who just jump off the page at you.
In this series we’re going to look at the players by position as compared to Hall members of that position. The position is the primary position of the player through his career. If he played a significant amount of games in another position that will be listed next to his name. Some of the guys we will look at over time have endured position changes, but because the majority of their career was at one position over another we have chosen that as the position in which they are being considered.
The seventh category we will look at is shortstop.
The Baseball Hall of Fame shortstops we are going to use for comparison are:
Luis Aparicio 18 years, 2601 G, 10230 AB, 1335 R, 2677 H, 394 2B, 92 3B, 83 HR, 791 RBI, .262 BA, .311 OBP, .343 SLG, 12 All-star teams, ROY, 9 Gold Gloves, Stolen base leader 9x
Ernie Banks 19 years, 2528 G, 9421 AB, 1305 R, 2583 H, 407 2B, 90 3B, 512 HR, 1636 RBI, .274 BA, .330 OBP, .500 SLG, 14 All-star teams, 2 MVPs, 1 Gold Glove, Home Run leader 2x, RBI leader 2x
Ozzie Smith 19 years, 2573 G, 9396 AB, 1257 R, 2460 H, 402 2B, 69 3B, 28 HR, 793 RBI, .262 BA, .337 OBP, .328 SLG, 15 All-star teams, 1 Silver Slugger, 1 NLCS MVP, 13 Gold Gloves
Robin Yount (CF) 20 years, 2856 G, 11008 AB, 1632 R, 3142 H, 583 2B, 126 3B, 251 HR, 1406 RBI, .285 BA, .342 OBP, .430 SLG, 3 All-star teams, 3 Silver Sluggers, 2 MVPs, 1 Gold Glove
We have five possible candidates for the Hall, with two now playing significant games in other positions:
Their stats are current as of July 29, 2007.
Miguel Tejada 11th year, 1498 G, 5837 AB, 909 R, 1676 H, 331 2B, 18 3B, 247 HR, 997 RBI, .287 BA, .343 OBP, .477 SLG, 4 All-star teams, 2 Silver Sluggers, 1 MVP, 1 All-Star Game MVP, RBI leader 1x
Derek Jeter 13th year, 1783 G, 7218 AB, 1344 R, 2292 H, 374 2B, 53 3B, 190 HR, 910 RBI, .318 BA, .389 OBP, .463 SLG, 8 All-star teams, 1 Silver Sluggers, ROY, 1 All-Star Game MVP, 1 World Series MVP, 3 Gold Gloves
Alex Rodriguez (3B) 14th year, 1850 G, 7151 AB, 1455 R, 2183 H, 389 2B, 26 3B, 499 HR, 1450 RBI, .305 BA, .387 OBP, .576 SLG, 11 All-star teams, 8 Silver Sluggers, 2 MVPs, 2 Gold Gloves, 1 Batting Title, HR leader 4x, RBI leader 1x
Nomar Garciaparra (1B/3B) 12th year, 1291 G, 5190 AB, 880 R, 1639 H, 351 2B, 52 3B, 215 HR, 885 RBI, .316 BA, .365 OBP, .528 SLG, 6 All-star teams, 1 Silver Sluggers, ROY, 2 Batting Titles, Hits leader 1x
Omar Vizquel 19th year, 2537 G, 9314 AB, 1320 R, 2559 H, 408 2B, 69 3B, 75 HR, 846 RBI, .275 BA, .340 OBP, .358 SLG, 3 All-star teams, 11 Gold Gloves
Shortstop is a position that over time has evolved. It used to be a shortstop was a small feisty middle infielder, who could field, but couldn’t hit for power. Guys like Aparicio, Mark Belanger, Dave Concepcion, Vizquel and Smith come to mind. Then Ernie Banks became the first great power hitting shortstop, along came guys like Yount, Ripken, Tejada, Rodriguez, Jeter and Garciaparra who could field, hit for average and for power.
In comparing our five candidates to current Hall members, I really think there’s a legitimate shot at all five getting in. Tejada and Garciaparra will have the toughest row to hoe based on the shear numbers. I think these guys are borderline but if you look at their stats compared to others that played the position they are superior in many ways. Their problem is they are going to be compared to their peers.
Vizquel is in. He doesn’t have the offensive numbers but like Smith before him his defense is his game. Then the two elite guys, Jeter and Rodriguez, are locks. Jeter will get in based on his numbers and his post season presence. What you don’t see looking at the stats is that no one has more post season hits than Jeter. Like him or hate him he is a winner, a team player, a leader. Rodriguez is possibly the greatest player of all-time, definitely the greatest player of this current era along with Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey, Jr. Rodriguez has the chance to be the all-time HR King post-Bonds. He will have the best shot, based on his age and his current numbers, to reach that summit. But like everyone before him he won’t be a unanimous selection because of the off the field stuff and the clubhouse issues but he will be a first ballot guy just like Jeter will and Vizquel should be.
