TEXAS - Alex Rodriguez 27 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 SEA 129 502 143 25 0 42 110 111 56 109 285 357 586 21 7 2000 SEA 148 554 175 34 2 41 134 132 100 121 316 420 606 15 4 2001 SEA 162 632 201 34 1 52 133 135 75 131 318 399 622 18 3       Rodriguez became the first shortstop ever to hit 50 homers in a season; he has accomplished so much already that it is hard to believe that he is just entering his prime years. It is hard to believe that Rodriguez, Jeter and Garciaparra have combined for zero MVP Awards in their careers; reminds me of the old days when Aaron and Mays combined for 3 MVPs in 46 years of play.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Has been the best player in the American League.

NEW YORK YANKEES - Derek Jeter 28 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 NYY 158 627 219 37 9 24 134 102 91 116 349 438 552 19 8 2000 NYY 148 593 201 31 4 15 119 73 68 99 339 416 481 22 4 2001 NYY 150 614 191 35 3 21 110 74 56 99 311 377 480 27 3       First, the good stuff. Jeter is a great player, a durable shortstop who hits .300 with power and speed and he is solid with the glove. He's a champion, he's steamrolling towards 3000 hits, and is destined to become one of baseball's greatest shortstops.       The playoffs seemed to convince fans in New York and elsewhere that Jeter is a wizard with the glove. Myself, I think Alex Rodriguez is better defensively. Jeter made two famous plays: the miraculous flip at home plate, and the spectacular (if somewhat unnecessary) crash into the stands. They were memorable, but I'm not sure I would want to judge a player's defense on two freakish plays. Jeter's OK with the glove, but he backhands far too many grounders, and lets more than a few routine ones get past him.

BOSTON - Nomar Garciaparra 29 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 BOS 135 532 190 42 4 27 103 104 51 39 357 418 603 14 3 2000 BOS 140 529 197 51 3 21 104 96 61 50 372 434 599 5 2 2001 BOS 21 83 24 3 0 4 13 8 7 9 289 352 470 0 1       Garciaparra's wrist injury is getting out of control; I'm reading the latest online reports, and the Sox still aren't sure if he will be ready for spring 2002. When healthy, Garciaparra is one of baseball's greatest players, and he is only 29. I usually take great pleasure in the Red Sox' misfortunes, but not this time; Garciaparra is a joy to watch. Get the damn thing fixed, Nomar.

OAKLAND - Miguel Tejeda 26 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 OAK 159 593 149 33 4 21 93 84 57 94 251 325 427 8 7 2000 OAK 160 607 167 32 1 30 105 115 66 102 275 349 479 6 0 2001 OAK 162 622 166 31 3 31 107 113 43 89 267 326 476 11 5       He doesn't get as much press as the top three, but Tejeda is a heck of a player. He's a power-hitting shortstop who is an underrated defensive player, gets to lots of balls though he makes the occasional mistake. His average isn't great, but then, his home park doesn't help him much. He's durable and consistent and very young, only 26; an All-Star quality player.

MINNESOTA - Cristian Guzman 24 S/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 MIN 131 420 95 12 3 1 47 26 22 90 226 267 276 9 7 2000 MIN 156 631 156 25 20 8 89 54 46 101 247 299 388 28 10 2001 MIN 118 493 149 28 14 10 80 51 21 78 302 337 477 25 8       You have to love Guzman; he has made such stunning improvements in such a short time that he has to be considered one of the best young players in the game. Only two years ago, he was a catch-and-throw guy; last year, at age 23, he was a .300 hitter with power. He is clearly the heart and soul of the Twins' lineup at this moment; young players who don't have command of the strike zone tend to regress from one year to the next, but I'm hoping that Guzman is an exception.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Has had a badly disappointing first half. But the Twins are in first, and he has a job; I expect him to play better.

CLEVELAND - Omar Vizquel 35 S/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 CLE 144 574 191 36 4 5 112 66 65 50 333 397 436 42 9 2000 CLE 156 613 176 27 3 7 101 66 87 72 287 377 375 22 10 2001 CLE 155 611 156 26 8 2 84 50 61 72 255 323 334 13 9       Ozzie Smith's induction into the Hall Of Fame has raised some questions about whether Vizquel deserves to be there, too. There are similiarities between the two shortstops, but Omar appears to be just about done. His batting average has suffered two big drops the past two seasons, and his base stealing is unacceptable. And despite the Gold Glove, I think it's hard to argue that he is still the best defensive shortstop in the league. He's still an OK player, but to merit consideration for the Hall I think he would need to finish strong over the next five years, and that seems unlikely.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Actually, he's decided to turn into a power hitter, and has 10 homers at the break. A wonderful first half of the season.

ANAHEIM - David Eckstein 27 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 AA 131 483 151 22 5 6 109 52 89 48 313 440 416 32 13 2000 AAA 134 474 122 28 0 4 94 39 69 46 257 372 342 16 11 2001 ANA 153 582 166 26 2 4 82 41 43 60 285 355 357 29 4       An injury to Adam Kennedy gave Eckstein a chance to play; he made the most of his opportunity, and eventually became Anaheim's regular shortstop. He is an on base machine who does a good job of drawing walks and a great job of getting hit by pitches. Eckstein probably overachieved a little bit last year (especially in the base stealing department) but I expect him to remain a solid player.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Has been decent; also has three grand slams so far (four homers total).

SEATTLE - Carlos Guillen 27 S/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 2000 SEA 90 288 74 15 2 7 45 42 28 53 257 324 396 1 3 2001 SEA 140 456 118 21 4 5 72 53 53 89 259 333 355 4 1       Serviceable shortstop, not a bad player but a replaceable one. Guillen doesn't do anything really well, though at least he isn't an automatic out; it is now obvious that stardom is no longer in his future.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: A late bloomer? Guillen has been tremendous the first half of the season, as good as Tejeda or Jeter or Vizquel; has picked up his game while Boone has struggled at second.

BALTIMORE - Mike Bordick 37 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 BAL 160 631 175 35 7 10 93 77 54 102 277 334 403 14 4 2000 BAL-NYM 156 583 166 30 1 20 88 80 49 99 285 341 443 9 6 2001 BAL 58 229 57 13 0 7 32 30 17 36 249 314 397 9 3       Bordick has had a fine career, but I'm not optimistic about the future. He struggled through an injury-plagued season, and didn't hit well. He had shoulder surgery after the season ended. He is 37 years old. He is expected to be ready for spring training, but a return to his old form would be a surprise. The Orioles do not have an obvious candidate to take his place.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX - Royce Clayton 32 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 TEX 133 465 134 21 5 14 69 52 39 100 288 346 445 8 6 2000 TEX 148 513 124 21 5 14 70 54 42 92 242 301 384 11 7 2001 CHW 135 433 114 21 4 9 62 60 33 72 263 315 393 10 7       During the winter, the White Sox made the unfortunately decision to replace Jose Valentin with Clayton. Unfortunate, because Clayton doesn't hit nearly as well as Valentin. And though Valentin makes a lot of frustrating errors, he probably also has more range than Clayton does. The White Sox had an awful start to the season, and Clayton was one of their worst players.       To be fair, things didn't turn out too badly. Clayton played better in the second half, and Valentin contributed as a "rover". Clayton's not my kind of player, but he probably played well enough that he will keep his job in 2002; if he falters, the Sox can always move Valentin back to short, and use Joe Crede at third - something they should probably do regardless.

KANSAS CITY - Neifi Perez 28 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 COL 157 690 193 27 11 12 108 70 28 54 280 307 403 13 5 2000 COL 162 651 187 39 11 10 92 71 30 63 287 314 427 3 6 2001 COL-KC 136 581 162 26 9 8 83 59 26 68 279 309 396 9 6       The past twelve months haven't been so great for Perez. First, he was traded from Colorado to Kansas City - forcing people to sit up and realize that he is actually a lousy hitter. The Royals are so happy to have him that they took him to arbitration during the winter - and the team won. Now, Perez has admitted that he is a year older than he originally claimed.       So now what? I can't imagine that Perez will want to stick around KC longer than usual, but his options may be limited. He's a fine defensive player, but he can't hit, and he won't be able to fool anyone anymore.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: A .249 on-base percentage? Ick!!

TORONTO - Felipe Lopez 22 S/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 A 134 537 149 27 4 14 87 80 61 157 277 351 421 21 14 2000 AA 127 463 119 18 4 9 52 41 31 110 257 303 371 12 11 2001 AAA 89 358 100 19 7 16 65 44 30 94 279 337 506 13 5 2001 TOR 49 177 46 5 4 5 21 23 12 39 260 304 418 4 3       Lopez is a very young, switch-hitting infielder with power. He made some big improvements at the plate last year at Syracuse, then got an opportunity to finish the year playing third base with Toronto. He played well enough that the Jays decided to trade Alex Gonzalez, and give the shortstop job to Lopez.       The Jays are doing the right thing; there's no point in sending Lopez back to the minors for another year. But we shouldn't expect too much in the short term; Lopez is a free swinger who needs to improve his plate discipline. In the field, he has good range but makes mistakes. He's only 22; I would compare him to where Cristian Guzman was two years ago, except that he has a little more power.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Batting .233 with some pop; is doing exactly what was expected of him. Should be real good in 2004.

DETROIT - Shane Halter 32 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 KC 86 204 45 12 0 2 17 13 12 38 221 265 309 2 5 2000 DET 105 238 62 12 2 3 26 27 14 49 261 302 366 5 2 2001 DET 136 450 128 32 7 12 53 65 37 100 284 344 467 3 3       Halter had the year of his life, endearing himself to Phil Garner. Given Halter's age and past record as a hitter, and Garner's record of finding good talent, I find it unlikely that he will continue to play as well. But the Tigers have released their other shortstop, Deivi Cruz, so Halter's got the job.

TAMPA BAY - Chris Gomez 31 R/R or Felix Martinez 28 S/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS GOMEZ 1999 SD 76 234 59 8 1 1 20 15 27 49 252 331 308 1 2 2000 SD 33 54 12 0 0 0 4 3 7 5 222 306 222 0 0 2001 SD-TAM 98 301 78 19 0 8 37 43 17 38 259 298 402 4 0 MARTINEZ 2000 TAM 106 299 64 11 4 2 42 17 32 68 214 305 298 9 3 2001 TAM 77 219 54 13 1 1 24 14 10 46 247 294 329 6 5       Martinez can field, but can't hit. Gomez... well, I'm not sure what his positives are. Shortstop has been a disaster for the Devil Rays ever since they traded Bobby Abreu for Kevin Stocker, and I don't expect the situation to improve much this year.

SHORTSTOPS - BOTH LEAGUES
1 Alex Rodriguez	11 Barry Larkin	21 Alex Gonzalez (FLO)
2 Derek Jeter	12 Omar Vizquel	22 Felipe Lopez
3 Nomar Garciaparra	13 David Eckstein	23 Adam Everett
4 Miguel Tejeda	14 Alex Gonzalez (CHC)	24 Tony Womack
5 Rich Aurilia	15 Jose Hernandez	25 Ramon Vazquez
6 Rafael Furcal	16 Carlos Guillen	26 Shane Halter
7 Cristian Guzman	17 Mike Bordick	27 Chris Gomez
8 Jimmy Rollins	18 Rey Ordonez	28 Jack Wilson
9 Orlando Cabrera	19 Royce Clayton	29 Juan Uribe
10 Edgar Renteria	20 Neifi Perez	30 Cesar Izturis