by Bob Swanson

Created on: July 02, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Right now there is a surplus of great shortstops in baseball. Ranging from Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes, to Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins. There are some great shortstops in the league at the moment, some of which could become some of the best to ever play the game. The two best shortstops in the league happen to be the subjects of this topic, Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes. Who is better you ask. Hanley Ramirez is and I'm going to tell you why.

Hanley Ramirez is not only the better shortstop but he is also the better overall player. No offense to Jose who I must say is an amazing and fun player to watch. He unfortunately is being compared to maybe one of the top five players in Major League Baseball. For this comparison I will analyze each part of their game and tell you who is superior. Before I do that I have to say that both of these players are what are referred to as five-tool players. These are the very elite players that can hit for average and power, possess the speed to steal bases, excel in the field, and can gun down a runner with a strong arm.

First off we will compare the two superstars' hitting ability, first is batting average. As of July 1,2008 Jose is the owner of a .292 average. This unfortunately is four points lower than Hanley's .296 batting average. It is close but four points is four points, edge goes to Ramirez. Next let's talk about power. Ramirez wins this by a land slide while jacking 19 home runs and driving in 36 runs. This is being compared to Reyes who has 9 home runs and has driven in 34 runs, edge once again goes to Ramirez. For those of you who haven't been keeping track Hanley is leading 2-0 in the categories so far.

Let's move on to the speed factor where Reyes takes the cake over just about everyone. Jose Reyes is known league wide for his blazing speed and ability to swipe a base at will. Jose also wins this category by the numbers. Jose has stolen 28 bases while being caught 8 times while Hanley has stolen 20 and being caught 5 times. Jose has closed the gap and now is only down 2 categories to 1.

Next is the fielding. Jose owns the better fielding percentage but before you think he wins this category there is more. Jose owns a better fielding percentage while having played in one less game and having 18 fewer chances. Ramirez also has 28 more putouts and 8 more double plays turned. After taking other statistics into consideration it would appear Ramirez is also the superior fielder. Ramirez increases his lead to 3-1 winning

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