The 2020 MLB season may be on hold, but that doesn’t mean that there’s absolutely no baseball content. With the internet, many videos of MLB players can be found with a simple search. Some of those videos include defensive highlights of retired shortstops. Here are five that people can watch defensive highlights of.
Derek Jeter wasn’t the greatest fielder of all-time, but clearly he had some talent on defense to be the Yankees shortstop for parts of 20 seasons. Besides playing as the DH for 73 games in his career, Jeter played 2,674 games at short with New York. The five-time Gold Glove winner finished his career with a .976 fielding percentage.
Jeter had some very memorable moments in the field. He made “the dive” where he made a catch and then flew into the crowd during a home game in 2004. Jeter also made “the flip” against the Athletics in a 2001 playoff game. Derek Jeter breaks down that play here.
Omar Vizquel is an 11 time Gold Glove winner. A lot of people know about his quick hands and how smooth he looked in the field. In the 2,709 games Visquel played at short, he had a .985 fielding percentage. Not only is he one of the best defensive shortstops of all-time, but one of the best defensive baseball players in general.
He had some pretty smart plays throughout his career. Here is a heads-up type of double play by Vizquel that isn’t seen every day.
Ozzie Smith does a backflip. (Gif from MLB.com)
Ozzie Smith has the most Gold Glove awards as a shortstop with 13. Every MLB game he played in was at shortstop, which includes 2,511 games. He had a career .978 fielding percentage and 8,375 assists. Smith is remembered by some for his backflips that he would occasionally do on the field. He is also smaller than many players today, as Baseball Reference lists him at 5-foot-11 and 150 pounds.
This video title calls a play from Ozzie Smith “greatest infield play of all time!” The play was certainly unique and showed the quick reaction time of Ozzie (poor quality warning.)
Troy Tulowitzki had a career shortened by injuries. He still managed to show loads of talent on the field, though. When watching him play short, his arm really stands out. It’s crazy how often he gets the ball to the first basemen on the fly while still having velocity to it. In this highlight reel, his fielding ability is shown.
Feature Image Courtesy of blogspot.com
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