Rdikeman at the English Wikipedia, Baseball barry larkin 2004, CC BY-SA 3.0 
Johnmaxmena, Ozzie Smith 1983, CC BY 3.0
As perhaps the most valuable defensive position in baseball (outside of catcher), shortstops are required to be slick fielders with rocket arms, even at the expense of their offensive production. Among the long list of great shortstops in MLB history, two of the best ever defensively were Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds and Ozzie Smith, most famously of the St. Louis Cardinals. Smith is arguably the greatest defensive player in baseball history (either him or Brooks Robinson, take your pick), while Larkin was excellent for many years with both the bat and the glove, thus leading to an interesting comparison/debate between the two Hall of Fame shortstops:
Who was better – Barry Larkin or Ozzie Smith?
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