Baseball's shortstops continue to come up big

Once considered the beleaguered position in the lineup in terms of offense, today's Big League shortstops continue to come on strong by virtue of their batting techniques.

For nearly a decade now, we have enjoyed heavy hitters emerging from the shortstop position.

The shortstop's woes of being the guy on the team with the worst numbers at the plate except for the pitcher have long since passed.

Starting with the ascendance of Cal Ripkin of the Baltimore Orioles, who is a lock for the Hall of Fame, his hitting will play a strong role in his bid for the Hall, in addition to his fielding.

Ozzie Smith, on the other hand, was recognized as the best fielding shortstop of his generation, making it into the Hall of Fame hands down based upon his defense.

We have been spoiled this past several years by a group of shortstops now in their prime who have forever changed the face of their position.

One of those stars, Alex Rodriguez, has won two Gold Glove Awards and the 2003 American League MVP Award at shortstop. Now playing for the NY Yankees and re-positioned to third base, also known as the Hot Corner, his hitting prowess and fielding skills continue to dominate.

In this 2004 season, this remaining high profile veteran group of shortstops we have counted on to further our enjoyment of the game includes Derek Jeter of the Yankees, Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox and Miguel Tejada of the Orioles.

They display batting skills that land them at the top of the heap.

Although Jeter and Garciaparra have been plagued by injuries this year and also a slump for Jeter earlier on, their timing at the plate in the long run has not suffered.

On June 22nd alone, Jeter and Tejada homered in the same game, Nomar had a Grand Slam homer, and to add insult to injury, A-Rod had two home runs in the same game as Jeter and Tejada.

A good hitter will always rise to the top.

The fielding skills of this group nowadays, while excellent, take a back seat to these players' abilities to manufacture key hits, turning the focus of the shortstop position upside down, while now demanding the same expectation of skills from their contemporaries and for those who have followed.

Several other significant shortstops this year have indeed contributed to the mix, who perhaps were not expected to come up big.

Mike Young of the Texas Rangers has been a pleasant surprise, as he became Alex Rodriguez' replacement at shortstop in Texas, after switching his position from second base. He is tied for the most number of hits in the Major Leagues and is second in batting average at .329 only to the American League leading Ichiro Suzuki.

Carlos Guillen of Detroit is batting with a .317 average and 83 hits and 47 RBI.

In the National League, Jack Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates, is on fire with a .346 batting average and a National League leading 98 hits, while Carlos Izturis of the Dodgers is batting .308 with 88 hits.

Let us not forget about two stellar performers in the twilight of their careers.

Barry Larkin, at the age of 40, still playing for the Reds where he has been his entire career, is batting .300 and has remained healthy all year. Best of all, he can still pick it!

Omar Vizquel, for years a perennial in the post-season for Cleveland, who mainly got his accolades through his defense and the ability to get on base, is still amazing to watch.

However, the tides have definitely changed, and, fortunately, the defensive skills of the shortstop position have not been compromised as a result.

We now can hope to continue to expect both outstanding offense and defense from one of the most demanding positions on the field.

In this regard, change has been good for baseball and has only added to its charm and longevity.