News Item: Alex Rodriguez hits home run #40 for the sixth year in a row, the second longest 40-HR streak ever. With another 40-HR campaign in 2004, Rodriguez will tie Babe Ruth at seven for the most consecutive seasons of 40 or more homers.

Two weeks ago, I compared A-Rod's standing in baseball history among 27-year-olds and all-time home run sluggers (including mentioning the likelihood of reaching the above milestone). This week, the focus is on Alex The Great and how he rates among shortstops.

A comparison of A-Rod vs. his peers at SS follows. Rate stats are based on a minimum of 4,000 plate appearances. The source for these lists is the Sabermetric Baseball Encyclopedia.

RATE STATS, 1900-2002

OBP                             OBP    
1    Arky Vaughan               .406   
2    Luke Appling               .399   
3    Honus Wagner               .394   
4    Johnny Pesky               .394   
5    Joe Sewell                 .391   
6    Joe Cronin                 .390   
7    Derek Jeter                .389   
8    Lou Boudreau               .380   
9    Alex Rodriguez             .380   
10   Barry Larkin               .372

Working on a .394 OBP this year, A-Rod has passed Lou Boudreau on a real-time basis. Unless Derek Jeter falters, it may prove difficult for Rodriguez to move up on this list. Still, there is nothing pedestrian about ranking among the top ten all-time in a category that perhaps is Alex The Great's weakest.

OBP                             DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Arky Vaughan               .068     .406     .338   
2    Honus Wagner               .067     .394     .328   
3    Derek Jeter                .047     .389     .342   
4    Luke Appling               .045     .399     .354   
5    Johnny Pesky               .045     .394     .349   
6    Alex Rodriguez             .038     .380     .342   
7    Barry Larkin               .036     .372     .336   
8    Lou Boudreau               .034     .380     .347   
9    Julio Franco               .034     .366     .332   
10   Kid Elberfeld              .032     .353     .321

A-Rod moves up to sixth when measured by the difference in his OBP vs. the league average. Arky Vaughan, perhaps the most underrated infielder of all time (at least up until the days of Bill James), sits atop the list for the second consecutive category.

Parenthetically, I'm not really comfortable with Julio Franco as a shortstop given that he played fewer than half of his games at that position. However, he played more games there than anywhere else on the diamond, so shortstop it is. Franco was a good-hitting SS although he enjoyed his best years as a 2B. Julio ran well and had decent range as a middle infielder, but he also made a lot of errors. As a result, he has been a DH/1B almost exclusively from 1992-on.

OBP                             RATE   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                120     .394     .328   
2    Arky Vaughan                120     .406     .338   
3    Derek Jeter                 114     .389     .342   
4    Johnny Pesky                113     .394     .349   
5    Luke Appling                113     .399     .354   
6    Alex Rodriguez              111     .380     .342   
7    Barry Larkin                111     .372     .336   
8    Julio Franco                110     .366     .332   
9    Kid Elberfeld               110     .353     .321   
10   Lou Boudreau                110     .380     .347

The five shortstops above Rodriguez rank ahead of him in all three OBP measurements. Among players eligible for the Hall of Fame, only Johnny Pesky is on the outside looking in. Pesky lost three full years to World War II, which probably cost him 600 hits and the opportunity to exceed 2,000 for his career. According to Bill James in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Pesky's 1942 season was the best ever by a rookie shortstop. He finished third in the MVP voting that year, went off to war, and then returned in 1946 and was fourth in the MVP voting.

Norman Elberfeld, who ranks in the top ten in OBP relative to the league based on difference and ratio, played from 1898-1914. Elberfeld, nicknamed "The Tabasco Kid" for his fiery play, was 5'7", 158 pounds and led the league in HBP twice.

SLG                             SLG    
1    Alex Rodriguez             .579   
2    Ernie Banks                .500
3    Honus Wagner               .468   
4    Joe Cronin                 .468   
5    Derek Jeter                .463   
6    Vern Stephens              .460   
7    John Valentin              .454   
8    Arky Vaughan               .453   
9    Jose Valentin              .448   
10   Barry Larkin               .448

Everyone knows that power is A-Rod's strong suit, and he ranks number one in career slugging percentage among shortstops. Rodriguez is slugging at a .600 clip this year and is adding to his huge lead over Ernie Banks, who captured back-to-back MVPs in 1958 and 1959 even though the Cubs had losing records and ended up in fifth place both years. Ironically, A-Rod seems to have been penalized by voters the past couple of years for playing on a team with a losing record. If the trend continues, Rodriguez could end up being one of the best players in the history of baseball never to win an MVP Award.

If I relaxed the number of plate appearances from 4,000 to 3,000, Nomar Garciaparra would place second in slugging percentage. Garciaparra had a SLG of .562 entering the 2003 season and is roughly maintaining that level this year. Upon retirement, A-Rod and Nomar stand an excellent chance of being 1-2 in SLG.

SLG                             DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Alex Rodriguez             .144     .579     .434   
2    Honus Wagner               .122     .468     .346   
3    Ernie Banks                .097     .500     .402
4    Vern Stephens              .078     .460     .382   
5    Arky Vaughan               .064     .453     .390   
6    Joe Cronin                 .051     .468     .417   
7    Rico Petrocelli            .045     .420     .375   
8    Cal Ripken                 .036     .447     .411   
9    Robin Yount                .036     .430     .394   
10   Barry Larkin               .035     .448     .412

Once again, A-Rod ranks number one in the slugging department, heading a list of mostly Hall of Famers and HOFers to be. Only Vern Stephens and Rico Petrocelli, two of the many great Boston Red Sox shortstops over the years, never made it to Cooperstown. Stephens placed in the top ten in the A.L. MVP voting six times during the 1940s in an era that featured Luke Appling, Lou Boudreau, Johnny Pesky, and Phil Rizzuto as rival shortstops.

SLG                             RATE   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                135     .468     .346   
2    Alex Rodriguez              133     .579     .434   
3    Ernie Banks                 124     .500     .402
4    Vern Stephens               120     .460     .382   
5    Arky Vaughan                116     .453     .390   
6    Joe Cronin                  112     .468     .417   
7    Rico Petrocelli             112     .420     .375   
8    Robin Yount                 109     .430     .394   
9    Cal Ripken                  109     .447     .411   
10   Barry Larkin                109     .448     .412

A-Rod slips to second based on the ratio of slugging percentage to the league average. Honus Wagner slugged a remarkable .468 during the Dead Ball era when the league average was only .346 and the positional average was .321.

OPS                             OPS    
1    Alex Rodriguez             .958   
2    Honus Wagner               .862   
3    Arky Vaughan               .859   
4    Joe Cronin                 .857   
5    Derek Jeter                .852   
6    Ernie Banks                .830
7    Barry Larkin               .820   
8    Vern Stephens              .815   
9    John Valentin              .814   
10   Joe Sewell                 .804

A-Rod shows his absolute prowess in OPS similar to SLG. Nomar, at .937, would rank second if he met the minimum number of plate appearances. Rodriguez is increasing his lead this year with a .993 SLG, while Nomar is holding his own at .923.

Joe Sewell was a 21-year-old rookie when he replaced Ray Chapman as the Cleveland Indians shortstop in 1920 after the latter was killed by a pitched ball. Sewell committed 15 errors in only 22 games that first season, then made six more in the World Series. Sewell, who was the most difficult man to strike out in baseball history by far (fanning once every 63 AB), had more than seven time as many walks as strike outs in his career.

OPS                             DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner               .189     .862     .674   
2    Alex Rodriguez             .182     .958     .776   
3    Arky Vaughan               .132     .859     .728   
4    Ernie Banks                .098     .830     .732
5    Vern Stephens              .087     .815     .728   
6    Joe Cronin                 .083     .857     .775   
7    Derek Jeter                .075     .852     .776   
8    Barry Larkin               .072     .820     .748   
9    Lou Boudreau               .061     .795     .734   
10   Rico Petrocelli            .055     .752     .697

Wagner overtakes Rodriguez when it comes to OPS minus the league average, but A-Rod is within striking distance of The Flying Dutchman.

OPS                             RATE   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                128     .862     .674   
2    Alex Rodriguez              123     .958     .776   
3    Arky Vaughan                118     .859     .728   
4    Ernie Banks                 113     .830     .732
5    Vern Stephens               112     .815     .728   
6    Joe Cronin                  111     .857     .775   
7    Derek Jeter                 110     .852     .776   
8    Barry Larkin                110     .820     .748   
9    Lou Boudreau                108     .795     .734   
10   Rico Petrocelli             108     .752     .697

Wagner makes it three-for-three on all three major rate stats (OBP, SLG, OPS) when it comes to the ratio vs. the league average. By comparison, Rodriguez ranks sixth, second, and second, respectively. Attention future Hall of Fame voters: There are only four SS who rank in the top ten in all three of these measurements--Wagner, Rodriguez, Vaughan, and...Barry Larkin.

TOTAL AVERAGE                   TA     
1    Alex Rodriguez            1.005   
2    Honus Wagner               .957   
3    Arky Vaughan               .892   
4    Joe Cronin                 .859   
5    Derek Jeter                .858   
6    Barry Larkin               .836   
7    John Valentin              .785   
8    Joe Sewell                 .778   
9    Luke Appling               .774   
10   Vern Stephens              .765

Once again, A-Rod jumps to the top of the pack when it comes to absolute levels (in this case Total Average). Rodriguez is extending his lead this year with a TA of 1.063 through the end of August. Wagner and Vaughan, the only other shortstops to rank number one in any of the rate stat categories, follow at two and three.

Given that John Valentin made his mark just prior to today's big, powerful shortstops, it is easy to forget how good his career year was in 1995 when he finished 9th in the MVP voting as a result of hitting .298/.399/.533 with 27 HR, 20 SB, and more than 100 runs and 100 RBI in only 135 games.

TOTAL AVERAGE                   DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner               .309     .957     .648   
2    Alex Rodriguez             .273    1.005     .732   
3    Arky Vaughan               .229     .892     .663   
4    Barry Larkin               .138     .836     .699   
5    Joe Cronin                 .127     .859     .732   
6    Derek Jeter                .126     .858     .732   
7    Ray Chapman                .108     .750     .643   
8    Vern Stephens              .104     .765     .660   
9    Lou Boudreau               .080     .748     .667   
10   George Davis               .077     .701     .624

A-Rod slides to number two based on the difference between TA and the league average. Wagner, Rodriguez, and Vaughan are 1-2-3 and well ahead of the rest of the pack.

George Davis, whose career spanned the late 1800s and the early 1900s, had his best year before the modern era. In 1897, Davis hit .353 with 31 doubles, 10 triples, and 10 home runs, along with 65 stolen bases, 112 runs scored, and a league-leading 136 RBI. Davis wasn't elected to the HOF until 1998 when the Veterans Committee finally saw fit to enshrine the switch-hitting great from a bygone era.

TOTAL AVERAGE                   RATE   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                148     .957     .648   
2    Alex Rodriguez              137    1.005     .732   
3    Arky Vaughan                135     .892     .663   
4    Barry Larkin                120     .836     .699   
5    Joe Cronin                  117     .859     .732   
6    Derek Jeter                 117     .858     .732   
7    Ray Chapman                 117     .750     .643   
8    Vern Stephens               116     .765     .660   
9    George Davis                112     .701     .624   
10   Rico Petrocelli             112     .702     .625

The top eight players remain in the same order, giving a pretty good indication of their relative TA merits--no matter how it's measured.

BPA                             BPA    
1    Alex Rodriguez             .623   
2    Honus Wagner               .582   
3    Joe Cronin                 .530   
4    Arky Vaughan               .530   
5    Derek Jeter                .525   
6    Barry Larkin               .523   
7    Ernie Banks                .513
8    Jose Valentin              .509   
9    John Valentin              .496   
10   Ray Chapman                .490

Surprise, surprise. Rodriguez finds himself in first place in another absolute rate stat (Bases per Plate Appearance). The Texas Rangers SS is widening the gap between himself and Wagner with a league-leading BPA of .673 this year. Joe Cronin edges out Vaughan for third place.

BPA                             DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Alex Rodriguez             .147     .623     .476   
2    Honus Wagner               .145     .582     .437   
3    Arky Vaughan               .097     .530     .432   
4    Ernie Banks                .075     .513     .438
5    Barry Larkin               .064     .523     .459   
6    Vern Stephens              .060     .489     .429   
7    Ray Chapman                .057     .490     .433   
8    Joe Cronin                 .055     .530     .475   
9    Derek Jeter                .049     .525     .476   
10   Rico Petrocelli            .041     .458     .417

Rodriguez maintains a slim advantage over Wagner in BPA minus the league average.

BPA                             RATE   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                133     .582     .437   
2    Alex Rodriguez              131     .623     .476   
3    Arky Vaughan                122     .530     .432   
4    Ernie Banks                 117     .513     .438
5    Vern Stephens               114     .489     .429   
6    Barry Larkin                114     .523     .459   
7    Ray Chapman                 113     .490     .433   
8    Joe Cronin                  112     .530     .475   
9    Derek Jeter                 110     .525     .476   
10   Rico Petrocelli             110     .458     .417

Wagner returns to his customary #1 spot when it comes to ratios, a sign that he was slightly more dominant vs. the players from his era than his closest pursuer 100 years later.

RUNS CREATED/GAME              RC/G    
1    Honus Wagner               8.31   
2    Alex Rodriguez             8.16   
3    Arky Vaughan               7.61   
4    Derek Jeter                6.92   
5    Joe Cronin                 6.81   
6    Barry Larkin               6.34   
7    Luke Appling               6.26   
8    Joe Sewell                 6.03   
9    Johnny Pesky               5.98   
10   Vern Stephens              5.93

Wagner, Rodriguez, Vaughan. A-Rod is improving his career average this year at 8.58 RC/G.

RUNS CREATED/GAME               DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner               3.85     8.31     4.46   
2    Alex Rodriguez             2.93     8.16     5.23   
3    Arky Vaughan               2.75     7.61     4.86   
4    Derek Jeter                1.68     6.92     5.24   
5    Barry Larkin               1.46     6.34     4.88   
6    Joe Cronin                 1.24     6.81     5.57   
7    Vern Stephens              1.15     5.93     4.78   
8    Johnny Pesky               1.05     5.98     4.93   
9    Ernie Banks                0.98     5.56     4.59
10   Luke Appling               0.94     6.26     5.32

This is a recording. Wagner, Rodriguez, Vaughan.

RUNS CREATED/GAME               RATE   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                186     8.31     4.46   
2    Arky Vaughan                156     7.61     4.86   
3    Alex Rodriguez              156     8.16     5.23   
4    Derek Jeter                 132     6.92     5.24   
5    Barry Larkin                130     6.34     4.88   
6    Vern Stephens               124     5.93     4.78   
7    Joe Cronin                  122     6.81     5.57   
8    Johnny Pesky                121     5.98     4.93   
9    Ernie Banks                 121     5.56     4.59
10   Lou Boudreau                119     5.81     4.90

Wagner, Vaughan, Rodriguez this time. Almost tripped me up there.

CUMULATIVE STATS, 1900-2002

TOTAL BASES                     TB     
1    Cal Ripken                 5168   
2    Robin Yount                4730   
3    Ernie Banks                4706
4    Honus Wagner               4228   
5    Joe Cronin                 3546   
6    Luke Appling               3528   
7    Luis Aparicio              3504   
8    Alan Trammell              3442   
9    Rabbit Maranville          3423   
10   Barry Larkin               3290

With 2845 TB (and counting), Rodriguez should pass Cronin for fifth place by the end of 2005 when he will be just 30 years old.

Cal Ripken goes to the head of the class when it comes to career total bases. Ripken failed to make the top ten on any of the above absolute rate stats although he placed 8th and 9th in the two SLG categories relative to the league. His cumulative stats and peak production rank among the best, but he was no better than an average hitter the last ten years of his career (except for 1999 when he hit .340/.368/.584). Cal's longevity helped his counting stats immensely, but it hurt him in the area of rate stats.

TOTAL BASES                     DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner               1400     4228     2828   
2    Ernie Banks                 977     4706     3729
3    Alex Rodriguez              729     2535     1806   
4    Vern Stephens               603     2991     2388   
5    Arky Vaughan                589     3003     2414   
6    Robin Yount                 537     4730     4193   
7    Nomar Garciaparra           514     1771     1257   
8    Cal Ripken                  503     5168     4665   
9    Joe Cronin                  421     3546     3125   
10   Barry Larkin                370     3290     2920

A-Rod should pass Banks for second place by the end of 2004 or early 2005. If, and when, he catches Wagner will depend upon his health and his future production. Garciaparra should catapult into fourth place by the end of this season.

TOTAL BASES                     RATE   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                149     4228     2828   
2    Alex Rodriguez              140     2535     1806   
3    Ernie Banks                 121     4706     3729
4    Vern Stephens               125     2991     2388   
5    Arky Vaughan                124     3003     2414   
6    Derek Jeter                 114     2031     1788   
7    Joe Cronin                  113     3546     3125   
8    Robin Yount                 113     4730     4193   
9    Barry Larkin                113     3290     2920   
10   Rico Petrocelli             112     2263     2013

The top five names remain the same, but this time A-Rod is already ahead of Banks.

RUNS CREATED                    RC     
1    Honus Wagner               2011   
2    Cal Ripken                 1709   
3    Robin Yount                1644   
4    Luke Appling               1511   
5    Ernie Banks                1496
6    Joe Cronin                 1448   
7    Arky Vaughan               1331   
8    Barry Larkin               1298   
9    Alan Trammell              1246   
10   Joe Sewell                 1218

With 1097 RC (and counting), A-Rod should enter the top ten sometime during the second half of 2004. He is on pace to pass Ripken by the time he reaches his early 30s and stands a good chance of catching Wagner before his playing days are through.

RUNS CREATED                    DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                933     2011     1078   
2    Arky Vaughan                482     1331      849   
3    Alex Rodriguez              350      975      625   
4    Barry Larkin                298     1298     1000   
5    Joe Cronin                  263     1448     1185   
6    Ernie Banks                 260     1496     1236
7    Robin Yount                 258     1644     1386   
8    Luke Appling                226     1511     1285   
9    Nomar Garciaparra           222      656      434   
10   Vern Stephens               207     1070      863

The top three names should be familiar to all of us by now. A-Rod may pass Vaughan by the end of next year, but he has a long ways to go to reach Wagner (who ranks 14th all time in the modern era and 11th if one also includes his pre-1900 stats).

RUNS CREATED                    RATE   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Honus Wagner                187     2011     1078   
2    Arky Vaughan                157     1331      849   
3    Alex Rodriguez              156      975      625   
4    Derek Jeter                 132      818      619   
5    Barry Larkin                130     1298     1000   
6    Vern Stephens               124     1070      863   
7    Joe Cronin                  122     1448     1185   
8    Johnny Pesky                121      776      639   
9    Ernie Banks                 121     1496     1236
10   Robin Yount                 119     1644     1386

Wagner, Vaughan, Rodriguez with A-Rod once again within earshot of second but quite a distance from first.

RCAA                             RCAA    
1    Honus Wagner                938   
2    Arky Vaughan                478   
3    Alex Rodriguez              347   
4    Robin Yount                 284   
5    Barry Larkin                274   
6    Joe Cronin                  243   
7    Luke Appling                239   
8    Nomar Garciaparra           217   
9    Derek Jeter                 213   
10   Ernie Banks                 207

Wagner, Vaughan, and Rodriguez sit atop the all-important stat of runs created above average. Garciaparra has leapfrogged Appling and Cronin into sixth place this year and may become worthy of junior partner status in the law firm of Wagner, Vaughan, and Rodriguez by scaling the heights into fourth by the end of 2004.

RCAP                             RCAP    
1    Honus Wagner                981   
2    Arky Vaughan                598   
3    Barry Larkin                478   
4    Joe Cronin                  432   
5    Alex Rodriguez              419   
T6   Robin Yount                 408   
T6   Cal Ripken                  408   
8    Luke Appling                377   
9    Alan Trammell               365   
10   Joe Sewell                  348

Rodriguez falls to fifth place and Larkin rises to third in runs created above position because this stat compares a player vs. the specific league rather than the overall majors. As a whole, A-Rod's competition has been more difficult within his league (given the presence of Garciaparra, Jeter, and Miguel Tejada) than Larkin (Jay Bell, Jeff Blauser, and Ozzie Smith). Nonetheless, Alex The Great should surpass Larkin by the end of this year or perhaps early next year.

I have also included the top ten for those who like the Baseball Prospectus stat of Equivalent Average (EqA). EqA is a measure of total offensive value per out, with corrections for league offensive level, home park, and team pitching. The scale is deliberately set to approximate that of batting average with a level of .260 the norm.

EQUIVALENT AVERAGE              EQA
1	Honus	Wagner		.321
2	Alex	Rodriguez	.320
3	Nomar	Garciaparra	.313
4	Arky	Vaughan		.312
5	Derek	Jeter		.302
6	George	Davis		.294
7	Lou	Boudreau	.293
8	Barry	Larkin		.292
9	Joe	Cronin		.291
10	Robin	Yount		.288

Given the importance of defense at the shortstop position, I would be remiss if I didn't discuss this aspect of the equation. No matter whether one uses the raw fielding stats (such as assists, putouts, double plays, and range factor), fielding runs as determined by Total Baseball, or the more sophisticated stats used by Baseball Prospectus or those incorporated into Win Shares and Zone Ratings, it doesn't change the fact that a great-hitting, average-fielding shortstop is still better than an average-hitting, great-fielding shortstop. In other words, I would take Ernie Banks at his peak over Ozzie Smith at his peak.

As best as I can determine, the following lists rank the premier fielding shortstops by the more advanced metrics.

FIELDING RUNS ABOVE REPLACEMENT	FRAR
1	Bill	Dahlen		1094
2	Rabbit	Maranville       927
3	Honus	Wagner		 916
4	Ozzie	Smith		 887
5	Bobby 	Wallace		 867
6	Joe	Tinker		 847
7	George	Davis		 844
8	Cal	Ripken		 766
9	Luis	Aparicio	 745
10	Mark	Belanger	 708

To score well here, players need to be strong defensively and benefit from long careers. For what it's worth, A-Rod stood at 252 prior to the 2003 season.

FIELDING RUNS ABOVE AVERAGE    FRAA
1	Bill	Dahlen		354
2	Joe	Tinker		338
3	Ozzie	Smith		325
4	Mark	Belanger	302
5	Art	Fletcher	271
6	Honus	Wagner		258
7	Bobby 	Wallace		242
8	George	McBride		232
9	Marty	Marion		224
10	George	Davis		222

This defensive stat is similar to the one above except with a higher hurdle rate (vs. an average player rather than a replacement level player). A-Rod came into the current season with 19, meaning that he was slightly above average defensively at shortstop for his career.

				RATE
1	Joe	Tinker		118
2	Art	Fletcher	117
3	Mark	Belanger	116
4	Bill	Dahlen		116
5	Dal	Maxvill		116
6	Marty	Marion		115
7	Lou	Boudreau	114
8	George	McBride		114
9	Everett	Scott		114
10	Ozzie	Smith		113

The Baseball Prospectus "Rate" stat is another way to look at the fielder's rate of production. A player with a rate of 110 is 10 runs above average per 100 games, a player with an 87 is 13 runs below average per 100 games, etc. A-Rod's rate stat is 102 or two runs above average per 100 games.

Lastly, shortstops who received letter grades of "A+" by Bill James according to Defensive Win Shares (in alphabetical order):

Mark Belanger
Lou Boudreau
Rick Burleson
Dave Concepcion
Bill Dahlen
Mickey Doolan
Art Fletcher
Charlie Gelbert
Rabbit Maranville
Marty Marion
Dal Maxvill
Phil Rizzuto
Everett Scott
Ozzie Smith
Joe Tinker
Honus Wagner

A-Rod was rated "C+" by James through the 2000 season in his Win Shares book. A-Rod's defense has improved since then and would probably rate a "B-" today.

There are very few players who appear in the top ten in various offensive and defensive rankings. Given that Honus Wagner ranks number one the most times offensively and is generally regarded as among the top ten defensive shortstops of all time, I believe it follows that John Peter Wagner is the best shortstop ever.

Top Ten

Here is Rich's Weekend Baseball BEAT's top ten shortstops of all time (minimum of 10 or more seasons):

 1.   Honus Wagner
 2.   Alex Rodriguez
 3.   Arky Vaughan
 4.   Cal Ripken
 5.   Robin Yount
 6.   Ernie Banks
 7.   Barry Larkin
 8.   Joe Cronin
 9.   Lou Boudreau
10.   Luke Appling

I feel strongly about the order of my top four, and I believe the other six are worthy of being named in the top ten. However, I don't have strong convictions about the order of the last three (SS from the 1930s and 1940s whose careers overlapped).

Just Missed: Pee Wee Reese, Joe Sewell, Ozzie Smith, and Alan Trammell.
Most Underrated: Vern Stephens.
Sadly Forgotten: George Davis and Bill Dahlen.
Coming on Strong: Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Jeter. With a couple of more outstanding seasons, Garciaparra could climb all the way to fourth place and Jeter would be worthy of a top ten spot, at least based on his offensive contributions.

Luis Aparicio, Jim Fregosi, and Maury Wills were the best shortstops between Banks and Yount. Aparicio and Wills were renowned for stealing bases more than anything else with the former leading the A.L. every year from 1956-1964 and the latter topping the N.L. annually from 1960-1965. Stolen bases were worth more in the lower run-scoring environment but still are generally overrated when it comes to evaluating the merits of players.

Does Alex Rodriguez have a chance of becoming number one? Yes, if A-Rod can maintain today's level of productivity for another 7-8 years, he may wind up supplanting the immortal Honus Wagner as the best offensive shortstop of all time. Whether Rodriguez can overtake Wagner as the most complete SS is debatable. In any event, Alex The Great will most likely end up no worse than the second best SS ever and, quite possibly, the number one home run hitter among all players in terms of cumulative totals.