[Mr. Mojo]

Ripken is the second-best shortstop of all time, second only to Honus Wagner.

When you combine all aspects of the game, there's little doubt about that. But Ozzie Smith was the best defensive shortstop.

[Charles Henrickson]

Ozzie Smith was the best defensive shortstop.

Probably. His range and his acrobatics and his knack for the flashy play were unparalleled. But his arm was never that strong, and for the second half of his career (after he hurt his shoulder, I think), was probably below average. Playing on Astroturf helped him get friendly bounces on his throws to first.

Overall, I think Smith is somewhat overrated--certainly Hall-worthy but overrated nonetheless. The fans here in St. Louis remember his backflips when he ran out on the field but they are blind to his relatively weak arm. (I grew up in Chicago and now live in St. Louis, so I am a little more objective than the locals here.)

[Charles Henrickson]

Ozzie Smith was voted in on his first ballot. Meanwhile, Concepcion and Trammell likely will never make it. But really, I don't think there was a night-and-day difference among them, not THAT much. True, Smith was tops in defensive range, and his high number of stolen bases are a big plus. But he had no power whatsoever and did not hit for a high average. Don't get me wrong, I would still put Smith in my top 10 all-time at short, but not way up at the top.

I would judge the overhyped Smith to be roughly equal to the underrated HOFer Luis Aparicio:

Luis Aparicio (1956-73): 2599 G, 1335 R, 83 HR, 791 RBI, .262 AVG, .653 OPS, 506 SB/79 SB%

Ozzie Smith (1978-96): 2573 G, 1257 R, 28 HR, 793 RBI, .262 AVG, .666 OPS, 580 SB/80 SB%

Everybody knows Ozzie, but nobody remembers Little Looie. Yet their numbers were VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL and they were EXACTLY THE SAME TYPE OF PLAYER--very fast, excellent defensive shortstops, great basestealers. I guess Looie should have done a few backflips when he came out on the field.

An interesting case will be when Omar Vizquel becomes eligible. Same type of player, very comparable to Aparicio and Smith.

[grey_whiskers]

When you combine all aspects of the game, there's little doubt about that. But Ozzie Smith was the best defensive shortstop.

Mark Belanger.

Ozzie played on turf and could count on true hops every time.

(Of course, Belanger got to play next to Brooks Robinson...)

Cheers!