Shortstop is often viewed as a position when gloves prosper and bats have a tendency to wilt – an acceptable trade-off for a position that is considered a key defensive location on the baseball diamond chessboard. Occasionally a baseball team will have a unique defensive specimen, such as former Tiger Ray Oyler, play a 100 or so games hitting considerably lower than the famed Mendoza Line.
The good field and no hit pronouncement were often attached to shortstop, but it was actually a misnomer, since baseball has produced a wealth of talented players at the position.