Longtime Philadelphia Phillies infielder Jimmy Rollins has weighed in on who he believes to be the best to ever do it at his position.
In an interview with baseball and gaming YouTuber SeeHondo at this year’s World Series, Rollins shared his Mount Rushmore for the best shortstops in MLB history. For his top-four shortstops of all time, Rollins picked Ozzie Smith, Cal Ripken Jr., Omar Vizquel and Barry Larkin.
It didn’t take long for Rollins to think of Smith and Ripken as his first two answers.
“There is no ‘obviously,’ but obviously, Ozzie Smith,” Rollins said. “He was a guy that – I tried to be Ozzie Smith. When I felt tall, I was Cal Ripken, so he would be two.”
After a little internal debate, Rollins landed on Vizquel and Larkin to round out the group.
“We talkin’ about defense, I’m thinking about this defensively – Omar Vizquel is three,” Rollins said. “And then when you look at both sides of the ball – cause I’m not gonna put myself in this – gotta go with the other No. 11, Barry Larkin.”
Smith made 15 All-Star appearances and won 13 Gold Gloves with the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996. Ripken, meanwhile, spent his entire 21-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, earning 19 All-Star bids, eight Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves, two MVPs and a World Series along the way.
Like Smith and Ripken, Larkin made the Hall of Fame after making 12 All-Star Games and winning a World Series in 19 years with the Cincinnati Reds.
Vizquel, on the other hand, has not made the Hall of Fame despite earning 11 Gold Gloves.
Rollins is one of the most qualified people on the planet to pick the best shortstops ever to play the game, considering he won four Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, an MVP and a World Series from 2000 to 2016.
