When it comes to ranking Hall of Fame shortstops, there?s B.C. and A.C. ? before Cal and after Cal.
Ripken?s abilities were so far superior to his shortstop peers he redefined the position. Before the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Ripken embarked on his storied career, teams often used a shorter, faster player at the position, sacrificing power at the plate for defensive prowess. But Ripken showed a player of his size could play the position better thananyone, causing teams to rethink their approach.
“He?s up there,” said Ken Rosenthal, senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com, when asked to rank Cooperstown shortstops. “As far as changing the position, to me that?s the thing that is overlooked the most. He?s paved the way for Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.”
With a .276 career batting average, Ripken ranks 12th among Hall of Fame shortstops, but Ripken?s batting average is low by today?s standards. The top five players who have spent the majority of their careers at shortstop ? Rodriguez, Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada and Michael Young ? have collectively hit .306.
Before Ripken?s induction, the average career home runs for a Hall of Fame shortstop was a mere 101, which is skewed by Ernie Banks? 512.
Ripken hit 431 career home runs ? 345 as a shortstop, the same number Rodriguez hit as a shortstop before shifting to third base.
Aside from his record streak of consecutive games played, Ripken is known best for his offensive prowess. But he also was a great defender, as he won two Gold Gloves and still holds or shares seven Major League or American League fielding records, including fewest errors in a season by a shortstop (three in 1990).
“If you are in the ninth inning of the World Series, and of all the guys on the field, you want the ball hit to Cal because the game is over,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, a former shortstop. “That?s how good he was.”
