The Top 10 greatest shortstops in the last 50 years

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players at each position in the last 50 years with the top 10 shortstops.

Here’s the criteria.

·       Must have played at least 5 years since the 1971 season to be considered (only looking at his playing career since 1971. Previous year stats prior to 71 will not be considered).

·       Player cannot qualify for 2 positions. Will be considered based on position he played most in his career (example. Rod Carew played more games at first base then at second base. He would only make the list at first base). Using baseball reference to confirm amount of games at each position.

·       Same consideration takes place for Designated Hitter (Frank Thomas being an example. He played more games as a DH than at first base. He would only make the list at DH).

·      Rankings based on regular season stats, awards won (MVPS, titles, gold gloves, etc). Post season will add to consideration

Here is my list of the top 10 greatest shortstops in the last 50 years.

1. Alex Rodriguez

2. Cal Ripken

3. Derek Jeter

4. Robin Yount

5. Ozzie Smith

6. Nomar Garciaparra

7. Barry Larkin

8. Alan Trammel

9. Miguel Tejada

10. Bert Campaneris/Dave Concepcion

Comments. ARod played more games at shortstop than at third base. Performance enhanced or not, his first 10 years as shortstop were one of the greatest of all time (including winning a batting title and 1 of his 3 MVPs). Ripken is the all-time consecutive games leader and a 2-time MVP. Jeter is a 5-time WS champion (and WS MVP) with a lifetime .310 batting average. Yount played more games at shortstop than in centerfield and is a 2-time MVP. Smith is considered the greatest fielding shortstop of all time and won 13 gold gloves. Garciaparra won 2 batting titles and was in the top 10 MVP voting in each of the first 6 full seasons he played. Unfortunately, injuries curtailed what would have been a Hall of Fame career. Larkin won an MVP and 3 gold gloves. Trammell won 4 gold gloves and WS MVP.  Tejada won an MVP and had 5 straight seasons over 100 RBI. Finally, I could not decide between Campaneris and Concepcion, so I put them both on the list tied for 10^th. Both never put up spectacular numbers, but were integral parts of their championship teams. Concepcion appeared in 4 World Series, winning 2  with the Cincinnati Reds, and Campaneris won 3 straight World Series championship with the Oakland A’s in the early 70s. Concepcion won 5 gold gloves, and Campaneris led the league in base stealing 6 times. Both deserved to be on this list.

Next up is the top 10 third basemen in the last 50 years.