Today’s star shortstops call the NL home
Posted: Thursday, June 26, 2008 5:38 PM
When it comes to star shortstops remember the numbers from not long ago: In 1999 Nomar Garciaparra had a slugging percentage over .600 with 27 home runs and 104 RBIs. In the same year 23-year-old Alex Rodriguez had 42 home runs and 111 RBIs and Derek Jeter produced a career-best power season of 37 doubles, 24 home runs and 102 RBIs. One year later Miguel Tejada exploded, beginning a three-year run of 30-plus home runs and 110-plus RBIs.
Yes, the BALCO era wasn’t just about Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa. Numbers exploded everywhere, including unprecedented power numbers from the shortstop position. No connection of any player to steroid use is implied here nor was the power surge in baseball confined to shortstops. It’s simply a statement that the eye-popping numbers posted from the stars at the position cannot be denied.
Nearly a decade later, when looking at the NL East, there resides the best collection of young shortstops in the game. Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies is the senior member of this supremely talented group. He’s 29, coming off an MVP season, and slugging at a percentage that has been up over .530.
Jose Reyes of the Mets has been the heir apparent as the game’s premier shortstop but his progression stalled during a lackluster second half of 2007. He is only 25, however, and thus has plenty of time -- as was the case with Rollins --to compile a breakthrough season that lifts him to the top of such an elite class.
In 2008 Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins is what Reyes was in 2006. He is next to the throne. Ramirez is the total package with a bit more power than Reyes. Ramirez is so good that earlier this season the Marlins signed him to a significant multi-year contract – which I believe makes him the first player that the sorry Florida franchise has ever signed to a long-term deal.
Atlanta was astute in dealing Edgar Renteria to Detroit last winter -- when his value was still high -- to make room for Yunel Escobar, a 25-year-old Cuban who entered the draft and was chosen in the second round of 2005.
Rollins, Reyes, Ramirez and Escobar -- it’s a glorious quartet. Each one of these shortstops has the potential to be a cornerstone player for his team for a decade. And they remind me of the 1970s and 1980s era of elite shortstops -- the period when a Garry Templeton or a Tony Fernandez helped change the position into one where all-around offense could help as much as strong defense.
Rollins, Reyes, Ramirez and Escobar are the models for another tier of shortstops in today’s NL to try and emulate -- players like Khalil Greene of the Padres (whose progress has stalled) and Jack Wilson of the Pirates (a slick fielder who has shown to be streaky with the bat).
Then there are even younger ones at the position -- Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies, whose rookie year resembled that of a new and improved Cal Ripken and Stephen Drew of the Diamondbacks, who has terrific pop in his bat but is far too strikeout prone.
No sensible mind is ready to suggest that the NL can match the AL in overall talent. But if there’s one place where the NL has made its mark, it is the development of shortstops (we concede the point that Ramirez was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Red Sox in 2000 and then acquired by Florida when it dealt Josh Beckett to Boston).
Bottom line: As the game enters a stage where athleticism reigns, the shortstops of the NL East are Exhibit A when it comes to having what it takes to be superstars.
