For decades, the position of shortstop was treated by a lot of teams as a spot for which the clear preference was for defense. The lords of those times, the managers, willingly sacrificed production at the plate for consistent glove work from a player who often handled the baseball in pursuit of outs.
Earl Weaver was regarded as the most progressive manager of his era, someone who scoffed at the idea of sacrificing outs with bunts, and his shortstop through most of his time with the Orioles was Mark Belanger, who hit 20 homers in his career, with a career .