The Nine Greatest Orioles Shortstops of All Time

[Frobby]

I started off planning a list of the 10 greatest Orioles shortstops of all time, but decided to cut if off at 9, because there were no other shortstops who had been the O’s starter for more than one season.   I only considered the years the player played for the Orioles, and for stats, only the years/games played at SS.   As I see it, the group breaks into four tiers.

 

Tier 1 – The Hall of Famer

 

1.  Cal Ripken: 2,302 games at SS (2291 as a starter), 89.3 WAR, 117 OPS +, +10 Rtot/yr.    Took over at SS in May 1982 and held the position  through 1996.   His rate stats understate how good he was in his prime years.   He won 2 MVP’s, one Gold Glove, the Rookie of the Year award, and was a 14-time all star as a shortstop.  

 

Tier 2 – The 8-Time Gold Glover

 

 2.  Mark Belanger: 1,898 games at SS (1,675 as a starter), 40.8 rWAR, 68 OPS+, +19 Rtot/yr.   Became the starting SS in 1968 after a couple of years as a defensive sub, and held the starting job through 1981, except for 1979 when he was hurt and replaced by Kiko Garcia.    An 8-time Gold Glover, there’s little doubt that Belanger was one of the top 2 defensive shortstops of all time (with Ozzie Smith), and arguably the best.    Couldn’t hit but his defense was key to the great 1969-71 teams as well as the 1973-74 playoff teams.   Was an all-star in 1976.

 

Tier 3 – The Solid Stars.   You could debate the order these four players belong in; they were all very good players for the O’s.

 

3.  Miguel Tejada: 596 games at SS (594 starts), 19.0 rWAR, 124 OPS+, -2 Rtot/yr.    Tejada was probably the most heralded free agent signing the O’s ever made, and one of the most successful.   He only played for the O’s from 2004-07, and was traded to the Astros for 5 players, including Luke Scott, Troy Patton, Matt Albers, Dennis Sarfate and a minor leaguer.   His 150 RBI in 2004 is a team record at any position.   His offense was probably as good as Cal’s in their primes, though Cal was the better defender.   Miggy had a cannon arm but was slightly erratic in the field.   A three-time all-star with the O's.

 

4.  Luis Aparicio: 713 games at SS (707 starts), 16.4 rWAR, 83 OPS+, +8 Rtot/yr.   Aparicio was the starter from 1963-67, before being traded back to the White Sox in a deal that brought us Don Buford.  He was the starting SS on the 1966 World Series winner.   A very slick fielder and a great baserunner, Aparicio won two Gold Glove and was a two-time all star while on the O’s.    He also led the league in stolen bases twice as an Oriole, and his 57 steals in 19F64 still stands as the team record.   He’s in the Hall of Fame, but more for his feats with the White Sox.

 

5.  J.J. Hardy: 887 games at SS (884 starts), 16.1 rWAR, 87 OPS+, +12 Rtot/yr.    Hardy was the starter from 2011-17, and anchored the defense on the resurgent 2012-16 Orioles.   He was a three-time Gold Glover and an all star in 2013.   He was a quiet leader who mentored Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop, and one of the most fundamentally sound players you will ever see.

 

6.  Mike Bordick: 737 games at SS (725 starts), 14.5 rWAR, 87 OPS+, +11 Rtot/yr.    Bordick was a good enough defender where the O’s moved Cal Ripken to 3B, and his defense anchored the 1997 wire-to-wire AL East championship team.    He was the starter here from 1997-2002, except for a brief two-month hiatus in 2000 when he was traded to the Mets for their stretch run, bringing hack Melvin Mora and others in return.    He never won a Gold Glove, but should have won twice in my opinion, including 2002, when he set the major league record for consecutive errorless games by a SS (110), a record that still stands.   He was an all-star in 2000 for the O's before getting traded to the Mets.

 

Tier 4 – The Regulars

 

7.  Ron Hansen: 380 games (360 starts), 5.1 rWAR, 88 OPS+, +8 Rtot/yr.   Hansen was the Rookie of the Year and an all star in 1960, helping the surprise Baby Birds to the Orioles’ first winning season.    He held the starting job in 1960-61, then alternated with Jerry Adair in 1962 before being traded in the deal that brought Aparicio to Baltimore.   

 

8.  Cesar Izturis: 274 games (256 starts), -0.7 rWAR, 56 OPS+, +12 Rtot/yr.   Izzy was the starter in 2009-10, and a backup to JJ Hardy in 2011.  A really terrific defender but his hitting went from bad to unacceptable.   He was a joy to watch on defense.

 

9.  Willy Miranda: 564 games (516 starts), -0.8 rWAR, 53 OPS+, +3 Rtot/yr.   Miranda held down the starting job from 1955-58, before playing a year behind the immortal Chico Carrasquel and then retiring.   A solid fielder but even worse offensively than Mark Belanger.    Never played for a winning Orioles team.  

 

You want to pick someone for no. 10?   You have your choice between Billy Hunter (1954), Chico Carrasquel (1959), Jerry Adair (1962), Kiko Garcia (1979), Deivi Cruz (2003), and Richie Martin (2019).    But, you might want to go with Manny Machado, who played in 148 games at SS for the O’s (145 starts) and accumulated 4-5 rWAR while doing so.

[atomic]

Lenn Sakata!! I would put Kiko at #10. 

[Frobby]

By the way, sorry for the various changes in font sizes and styles.   I originally typed this offline and something happened when I transferred it over that doesn’t seem to want to be fixed.  

[Enjoy Terror]

#10 should be Robert Andino

[Three Run Homer]

Good list, although I never thought I would see the name "Cesar Izturis" and the word "Greatest" in the same place.

[AZRon]

10 minutes ago, Frobby said:

By the way, sorry for the various changes in font sizes and styles.   I originally typed this offline and something happened when I transferred it over that doesn’t seem to want to be fixed.  

You have to remove all "formatting" before copying/pasting -- best to prepare it in "plain text".

[Frobby]

By the way, in looking for an explanation of what happened with Mark Belanger in 1979, I came across this fantastic SABR article about him:  https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bbcae277.    It didn’t answer my question, but it’s a great read!

[LookinUp]

Great list. You probably could have stopped at 6. That's where the line of demarcation is.

If you did go to 10, Manny would likely be the guy even though his defensive statistics and games played don't shine. 

[Frobby]

Just now, LookinUp said:

Great list. You probably could have stopped at 6. That's where the line of demarcation is.

Yeah, I agree.   The main reason I broke the list into tiers is that 3-6 are close and debatable, and then there’s a big drop-off.    

Still, the O’s have been pretty fortunate to have six shortstops of that quality.   Together they covered 49 of the 66 years the franchise has been in Baltimore, omitting any years where they played other positions or served as backups.   

[LookinUp]

Just now, Frobby said:

Yeah, I agree.   The main reason I broke the list into tiers is that 3-6 are close and debatable, and then there’s a big drop-off.    

Still, the O’s have been pretty fortunate to have six shortstops of that quality.   Together they covered 49 of the 66 years the franchise has been in Baltimore, omitting any years where they played other positions or served as backups.   

I immediately wanted to raise Hardy and lower Aparacio, but that's my age coming into play. There's no doubt that all four of those middle guys were really good contributors. I'd argue Bordick probably belongs at 6, but the other three can all make a case.

[TGO]

15 minutes ago, Frobby said:

By the way, in looking for an explanation of what happened with Mark Belanger in 1979, I came across this fantastic SABR article about him:  https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bbcae277.    It didn’t answer my question, but it’s a great read!

This SABR story on Kiko Garcia seems to indicate Belanger broke a finger in June. Garcia had been playing second and Dauer third while DeCinces was hurt in May. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/e9b0085b

[Moose Milligan]

33 minutes ago, Frobby said:

By the way, in looking for an explanation of what happened with Mark Belanger in 1979, I came across this fantastic SABR article about him:  https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bbcae277.    It didn’t answer my question, but it’s a great read!

Wish there was some video highlights out there of him.  I've looked, can't seem to find any.

[Aglets]

Where's the love for Freddie Bynum?

[Frobby]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Wish there was some video highlights out there of him.  I've looked, can't seem to find any.

Honestly, I’m not sure a highlight reel would really do him justice.   As mentioned in the article, he never dove for a ball.   I also don’t remember him doing 360’s to get his body in position to throw on balls up the middle on the OF grass.    He just covered a tremendous amount of ground and had a super-quick transfer and throw — no wasted motion of any kind.     And he threw in this over the top, seemingly effortless style.  

[TGO]

Anyone seen this documentary? Apparently came out last year and was shown in Belanger's hometown. http://www.belangerfilm.com/