Shortstop Ozzie Smith reflects on Ripken

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (Map, News) - They were both Gold Glove shortstops, All-Stars, World Series champions, and now, Hall of Famers. But that’s where the comparisons stop.

Ozzie Smith was 5-foot-11, 150 pounds and played in San Diego and St. Louis. Cal Ripken Jr. was 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and played for his hometown Baltimore Orioles. Smith was flashy and entered the game with a back-flip at second base. Ripken, meanwhile, was all business.

“We always had mutual respect,” Smith said. “Playing in different leagues, there were always those comparisons. Cal was the impetus for bigger guys being given the opportunity to play.

He proved it could be done and he did it as consistently as anybody that has played it.”

Ripken is credited with opening the eyes of the baseball world to allowing bigger players to man the middle infield, as evident by the bigger and stronger shortstops prevalent across the major leagues.

Smith hit just 28 home runs, but won 13 consecutive National League Gold Gloves — the annual award given to the top defensive player at each position. Ripken hit 431 home runs, recorded 3,184 hits and played in 2,632 consecutive games.

Smith, known as “The Wizard” for being arguably the greatest defensive shortstop in baseball history, said Ripken’s defensive abilities were even more impressive because of his stature.

“I don’t know if it’s fair to expect a guy that big to cover that much ground,” Smith said. “What he gave was consistency every day, consistency with balls hit right at him because he was in the right position.”

While Ripken is in the Hall of Fame for being a complete and consistent player, he also won two Gold Gloves and set the standard for the position when he committed just three errors in 161 games in 1990.

Smith believes Ripken’s defensive prowess will always be overshadowed by his accomplishments with a bat.

“In light of everything that’s happening now [with steroids and escalating offense], this [Hall of Fame] has always been a pretty offensive institution,” Smith said. “You can’t have success without [defense], but I think it’s taken a long time to get that recognition for that aspect of the game. If you can’t catch and throw, then why are we here?”

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