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Rating the Super Shortstops

Espn.com, January 17, 2000

by Rob Neyer

Before we get started, I want to mount a preemptive strike against anyone who might be thinking of e-mailing to protest the exclusion of Rey Ordonez from our list of candidates for "Shortstop of the Aughts."

In a historical context, who is Rey Ordonez? Defensively, he might be as good as Mark Belanger. Was Belanger the top shortstop of the 1970s? No, he clearly was not (and he was a better hitter than Ordonez). But maybe you're not happy with that comparison. Some people would argue that Ordonez is just as good with the glove as Ozzie Smith. I think those people are wrong, but for the sake of argument let's assume they're right. Was Ozzie Smith the top shortstop of the 1980s? No, he wasn't. Cal Ripken was. And at least to this point, Ordonez isn't the hitter that Ozzie was. End of discussion, unless someone actually has some evidence to present in "The Case of the Shortstop With the Sub-600 OPS."

Now, on with the legitimate candidates. As you might suspect, there are only three of them:

                              Age OPS

Nomar Garciaparra  26 933

Derek Jeter              25 854

Alex Rodriguez         24 914

Let's get down to brass tacks. Garciaparra's got a slight edge on Rodriguez as a hitter, but Alex is two years younger, so the chances are good that he'll finish his career with superior hitting stats. As you can see, Jeter is a fair piece behind those two fellows, but as every Yankees fan will be only so quick to remind me, Jeter was incredible in 1999. This brings to mind Edgardo Alfonzo, another middle-20s, middle infielder from New York who enjoyed a power surge last season. Can we expect more of the same in 2000? Hard to say, but the evidence suggests that as good as Jeter is and will be, he won't quite match the hitting exploits of Nomar and Alex.

But of course, there's more to playing shortstop than hitting. Like, you know, defense and whatnot. Unfortunately, everybody's got a different opinion on these guys. But as a way of getting into the issue, let's start with size.

You know Alex Rodriguez is big. As for the other two ... well, it's kind of funny. In my mind's eye, Garciaparra is the tall drink of water, while Jeter is the prototypically-sized middle infielder. But my mind's eye is wrong. Garciaparra is listed at exactly six feet tall, while Jeter is six-three. I probably don't have to tell you this, but six-three is big for a shortstop.

People rave about Jeter's defense, but you can spend a day or a week or a month playing with the numbers, and you'll find zero statistical justification for that reputation. I knew this when I wrote about the MVP battle last fall, but I wrote positive things about Jeter's defense anyway. How could so many baseball people be so wrong? Well, a few of my more sabermetrically-inclined friends e-mailed their complaints, and in retrospect I fear I might have caved to convention. Yes, Jeter looks smooth, but does that tell us how good a jump he gets on the ball? No, it doesn't. And just because Tim McCarver tells us he's great, doesn't necessarily make it so.

But does this mean anything for his future? Probably not. But maybe, just maybe, the Yankee brass has its own suspicions about Jeter's defense. Maybe, just maybe, instead of moving D'Angelo Jimenez and Alfonso Soriano, they'll move Jeter to third base and let one of the kids play shortstop. I'm not saying this will happen, just that it might happen.

When you talk about position switches, you have to talk about Alex Rodriguez. Like his pal Jeter, Rodriguez is six-three and 195 pounds, or at least that's what they list him at. He was supposedly 190 pounds five years ago, and it's a little hard to believe he's gained a mere five pounds since. One suspects that Rodriguez will soon weigh more than 200 pounds, if he doesn't already. Now, can a 200-pound giant play shortstop? Well, in his prime, Cal Ripken weighed about 200 pounds (to match his six-four frame).

But Ripken, in addition to his strong arm, made a science of defensive positioning, being in the right place before the ball was hit. Might Rodriguez become the same type of shortstop? Sure, anything's possible. But if he's got that reputation, nobody in the Seattle media has picked up on it. I have a sneaking suspicion that when Rodriguez signs his $200 million contract in a year or so, his new team will have, dancing in its collective head, visions of Alex eventually playing third base.

Look, comparing these three is a crapshoot. There's not been so much young talent at one position since the early 1950s, when Willie, Mickey and the Duke were all patrolling center field in their respective New York boroughs. But here's how I see the debate ...

Jeter's got three strikes against him: there are some question marks about his defensive abilities, he's big, and there are great young shortstops in the Yankees farm system.

Rodriguez has two of the same strikes against him: his defense is also somewhat questionable, and he's also big.

Garciaparra has one (admittedly) big strike against him: at 26, he's the oldest of the three super shortstops. But I think he's our man, in a photo finish. Garciaparra is the right size for a shortstop, his defensive rep is at least decent, and he's got his ballpark working for him.

So for the coming decade, the Aughts, I rate them Garciaparra, Rodriguez, Jeter, and then whichever of the kid Yankees gets to play shortstop somewhere. But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.