Discussing the talented group of shortstops in MLB | MLB Now

The Orioles and Royals start a three game series in Kansas City tonight with versus Henderson. That's right. Not the starting pitchers shortstop versus shortstop Gunnar Henderson started the season on the IEL. He's expected to make a season debut tonight and resume a matchup that could be the start of something special. Let's do a little digging in amid all the amazing things that happened last year. I'm not sure we're all as aware of something that was truly special last season to break out of seasons for two great young players setting up a golden age of shortstops in twenty twenty three. Gunnar Henderson had a six win season for the O's seeing time at third and shortstop Bobby Witt had a four win season for the Royals playing shortstop. Last year Gunnar moved to shortstop full time had a fantastic nine win season nine point one war. But Witt went next level had a better season a nine point four war. That's unbelievable in a single season. Gunnar was age twenty three. Bobby Witt was age twenty four. So they're both still young. The best should be still to come. Do we realize how rare it is for two shortstops to have those kind of seasons. I don't want to hang everything on wins above replacement war. Defensive metrics are tricky retroactive defensive metrics are especially sketchy. But that's the first time two shortstops have had nine win seasons in the same year in the live ball era. That's nineteen twenty to now. We are now in a golden age of shortstops. This could be the best grouping at the position in the history of the game. Now let's go back to the last golden age. A-Rod Jeter Noma in nineteen ninety eight. All three had a war over seven. A-Rod led the way with an eight point five. This was the blossoming of the big player moving to short. Think about it for a second. At that point in baseball the ball is not in play as much more strikeouts. You don't quite have to be Larry Boa playing short. That group could field but mainly they could hit. Now is there that much of a difference between an eight point five and a nine point one in war. Maybe maybe not. But if we're ranking we're ranking and if we're ranking I want you to think of what a nine win season really means. These are I know it's a big board right. These are notable seasons not rankings but the best seasons for the best shortstops of the last two generations. Bob Costas I was thinking of you as I put this together since nineteen sixty one. This is the expansion era. Cal Ripken an 11 win season nineteen ninety one. Robin Young ten and a half wins nineteen eighty two A-Rod ten point four. That's his best year in 2000 still a shortstop still with Texas Witt and Henderson right there actually seventh and eighth overall nine point four nine point one just over nine nine win seasons. Alan Trammell best year nineteen eighty seven MVP eight point two Derek Jeter best year nineteen ninety nine eight win season no more in 2000 seven point four Francisco Lindor best years twenty eighteen still with Cleveland Ozzie Smith right there mostly from fielding a seven win player nineteen eighty nine and Barry Larkin nineteen ninety six. This is the group of Hall of Famers for shortstops. Again these aren't rankings. If I was actually doing rankings there's that Rico Petrocelli season in there there's one from Marcus Simeon but these are these players of the Hall of Fame generation shortstops their best seasons. And right there is Bobby Witt and Gunnar Henderson. Now also the OPS plus I have it over here right. Take a look over here. Witt is up at a one seventy one Gunnar's at one fifty eight. Look at that. Witt is above everybody else even now it's at a one sixty six. Well Ripken's at a one sixty two. So he's right there with the best hitting seasons of Jeter one fifty three no more one fifty six Barry Larkin one fifty five. And there's Gunnar Henderson at one fifty eight and above Ripken and Lindor and the wizard. Amazing. So last year we had Ohtani fifty fifty judge slugging seven hundred. Those seasons not quite celebrated the way they should have been. These are amazing years in the same year historic seasons and they are back tonight. Witt and Gunner enjoy that. And we ask you on X at MLB now is this the best group of shortstops in the history of baseball. Let us know what you think on X and it will be now.