More hit balls go to the shortstop than to any other position, as there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly. Like a second baseman, a shortstop must be agile, for example when performing a 4-6-3 double play. Also, like a third baseman, the shortstop fields balls hit to the left side of the infield, where a strong arm is needed to throw out a batter-runner before they reach the safety of first base. [Wikipedia]
Almost 19,500 players have played in the major leagues. That means that in the order of 800-1000 players have been shortstops (still working on an exact number). That s a significant number of players that owe their careers to the inventor of the position, Doc Adams. Hopefully, Doc will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, when he does, how many other shortstops will he be joining?
26 Shortstops have been immortalized by being enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame are:
- Luis Aparicio
- Luke Appling
- Dave Bancroft
- Ernie Banks
- Lou Boudreau
- Joe Cronin
- George Davis
- Travis Jackson
- Hugh Jennings
- Derek Jeter
- Barry Larkin
- Pop Lloyd
- Rabbit Maranville
- Pee Wee Reese
- Cal Ripken Jr.
- Phil Rizzuto
- Joe Sewell
- Ozzie Smith
- Joe Tinker
- Alan Trammell
- Arky Vaughan
- Honus Wagner
- Bobby Wallace
- John Montgomery Ward
- Willie Wells
- Robin Yount