Shortstop

Information about Shortstop

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The position of the shortstop


Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly, so more balls go to the shortstop than any other position. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6.

Shortstops are required to cover second base in double play situations when the ball is hit to the second baseman, first baseman, pitcher, or catcher. They often cover second when a runner is attempting a stolen base. They also must cover third at various times, including the rotation play; that is, when there are runners on first and second and a sacrifice bunt is attempted. Shortstops generally are given precedence on catching pop-ups in the infield as well, so they end up calling off other players many times, although on deep pop-ups they fall back when called off by an outfielder. The shortstop also has to back up a throw from the catcher to the third baseman when the runner is attempting to steal third base (Normally this action is not done at the major league level because the catcher is better at throwing, the third baseman is better at catching the ball, and the left fielder is there to back up third base. This action is usually performed in little league baseball.).

Traditionally, players are selected as shortstops for their fielding prowess, but in recent years more shortstops with excellent hitting have entered the leagues as well. It is an exclusively right-handed position, as a righty can easily throw to first or second without having to physically turn after playing a ground ball, the most common type of hit directed at the shortstop.

Significant shortstops

Baseball Hall of Fame members

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Anderson Machado, a shortstop, moving to his left to field a ground ball.


*=Negro Leagues player

Multiple Gold Glove Award winners

All time single season assist leaders among shortstops

  1. Ozzie Smith: 621 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1980)
  2. Glenn Wright: 601 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1924)
  3. Dave Bancroft: 598 (Philadelphia Phillies/New York Giants, 1920)
  4. Tommy Thevenow:597 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1926)
  5. Ivan DeJesus: 595 (Chicago Cubs, 1977)
  6. Cal Ripken: 583 (Baltimore Orioles, 1984)
  7. Whitey Wietelmann: 581 (Boston Braves, 1943)
  8. Dave Bancroft: 579 (New York Giants, 1922)
  9. Rabbit Maranville: 574 (Boston Braves, 1914)
  10. Don Kessinger: 573 (Chicago Cubs, 1968)

All time single season putout leaders among shortstops

  1. Donie Bush: 425 (Detroit Tigers, 1914)
  2. Hughie Jennings: 425 (Baltimore Orioles [National League], 1895)
  3. Joe Cassidy: 408 (Washington Senators, 1905)
  4. Rabbit Maranville: 407 (Boston Braves, 1914)
  5. Dave Bancroft: 405 (New York Giants, 1922)
  6. Eddie Miller: 405 (Boston Braves, 1940)
  7. Monte Cross: 404 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1898)
  8. Dave Bancroft: 396 (New York Giants, 1921)
  9. Mickey Doolan: 395 (Phiadelphia Phillies, 1906)
  10. Buck Weaver: 392 (Chicago White Sox, 1913)

Other notable stars

See also

  •  • [ e] Baseball positions
Outfielders:Left field | Center field | Right field
Infielders:3rd base | Shortstop | 2nd base | 1st base
Battery:Pitcher | Catcher
Other:Designated hitter
There are 9 fielding positions in baseball. Each position conventionally has an associated number (from 1 to 9) which is used to score putouts. For example:
  • If the third baseman fields a ball and throws it to first, it is recorded as a 5-3 out.

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Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base.
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third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch counterclockwise to score a run.
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right-handed is more dexterous with one's right hand than with one's left hand: one will probably write with their right hand, and probably also use this hand for tasks such as personal care, cooking, and so on.
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left-handed primarily uses his or her left hand, more so than the right hand; a left-hander will probably use the left hand for tasks such as personal care, cooking, and so on. Writing is not as precise an indicator of handedness as it might seem.
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In baseball, part of the infielders' job is to cover bases. That is, they stand next to a base in anticipation of receiving the ball thrown from another fielder, so that they may make a play on an opposing baserunner who is approaching that base.
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double play (denoted on statistics sheets by DP) for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two", or as Ernie Harwell has coined it, "two for the price of
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First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team.
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pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk.
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Catcher is a position played in baseball. The catcher crouches behind home plate and receives the ball from the pitcher. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the catcher is assigned the number 2 (see Baseball scorekeeping).
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stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate. In baseball statistics, stolen bases are denoted by SB.
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sacrifice bunt to move the baserunner to third base.]]

In baseball, a sacrifice hit (also called a sacrifice bunt) is the act of deliberately bunting the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base.
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infielders, and "the battery" (two). Meanwhile the team in at bat sends nine batters to home plate one by one in fixed batting order.

The nine fielding positions are universal in high-level competitive baseball, and the actual positions taken on the field are exceptionally
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Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder.
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National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, is a museum operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of baseball-related artifacts
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Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934) is a former shortstop in professional baseball and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His career spanned three decades, from 1956 through 1973.
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Lucius Benjamin Appling (April 2, 1907 - January 3, 1991) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox (1930-1950).

Appling was born in High Point, North Carolina.
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Ernest "Ernie" Banks (born January 31, 1931 in Dallas, Texas) is an American former Major League baseball player who played his entire career with the Chicago Cubs (1953-1971). Banks is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His nickname was Mr. Cub.
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As Player
  • Cleveland Indians (1938-1950)
  • Boston Red Sox (1951-1952)
As Manager
  • Cleveland Indians (1942-1950)
  • Boston Red Sox (1952-1954)
  • Kansas City Athletics (1955-1957)
  • Chicago Cubs (1960)

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As Player
  • Pittsburgh Pirates (1926-1927)
  • Washington Senators (1928-1934)
  • Boston Red Sox (1935-1945)
As Manager
  • Washington Senators (1933-1934)
  • Boston Red Sox (1935-1947)
Career Highlights and Awards
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As Player
  • Cleveland Spiders (1890-1892)
  • New York Giants (1893-1901, 1903)
  • Chicago White Sox (1902, 1904-1909)
As Manager
  • New York Giants (1895, 1901-1902)
Career Highlights and Awards

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Travis Calvin Jackson (November 2, 1903 in Waldo, Arkansas - July 27, 1987) was a Major League Baseball player during the 1920s and 1930s. His exceptional range at shortstop led to the nickname "Stonewall".
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As Player
  • Louisville Colonels (1891-1893)
  • Baltimore Orioles (1893-1899)
  • Brooklyn Superbas (1899-1900,1903)
  • Philadelphia Phillies (1901-1902)
  • Detroit Tigers (1907,1909,1912,1918)
As Manager
  • Detroit Tigers (1907-1920)

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John Henry "Pop" Lloyd (April 25 1884 - March 19 1964) [1] was an American baseball player and manager in the Negro Leagues. He is generally considered the greatest shortstop in Negro League history, and both Babe Ruth and Ted Harlow, a noted sportswriter, reportedly
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Walter James Vincent Maranville (November 11, 1891 - January 5, 1954), better known as Rabbit Maranville, was a Major League Baseball shortstop. At the time of his retirement in 1935, he had played in a record 23 seasons in the National League, a mark which wasn't broken
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Harold Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23 1918 - August 14 1999) was an American professional baseball player who played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958.
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MLB All-Star (19)
1983-2001 (DNP 2000)
  • MLB All-Star Game MVP (2)
    1991, 2001
  • American League Rookie of the Year
    1982
  • American League MVP (2)
    1983, 1991
  • American League Gold Glove Award (2)
    1991, 1992

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    • Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25 1917 – August 13 2007), nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who spent his entire career from 1941 to 1956 with the New York Yankees.
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    ''For other people and things named "Sewell", see Sewell (disambiguation)

    Joe Sewell

    Infielder
    Batted: Left Threw: Right
    MLB Debut
    September 10, 1920 for the Cleveland Indians
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    Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith (born December 26, 1954, in Mobile, Alabama) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. Nicknamed "The Wizard of Oz"
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