9. Omar Vizquel – Vizquel finds his name on this list mostly due to his stellar defense. He was arguably the best defensive shortstop over the past decade as he added 4 Gold Gloves to his collection. For his career, he is an 11-time Gold Glove Award winner and is a true joy to watch play the infield. Offensively, Vizquel had a .270 AVG, .698 OPS, 644 Runs, and 151 SB for the decade. While not an offensive force, Vizquel does a great job of doing the little things that go unnoticed in the box score and his defense makes him a good choice for this list.

8. Edgar Renteria – For most of the decade, Renteria was one of the most consistent shortstops in the game. Renteria was a 4-time All Star this decade and also won back to back NL Gold Glove Awards in 2002 and 2003. Renteria enjoyed much of his success playing in the NL for the St. Louis Cardinals. For the decade, he had a .289 AVG, 109 HR, 688 RBI, .760 OPS, and 811 Runs. Renteria currently is reaching the end of the road in his career as an above average shortstop and is on the decline as far as performance goes.

7. Michael Young – Young started his career in 2000 as a second basemen for the Texas Rangers. He became the everyday shortstop for the team in 2004 before moving to third base last season. Young has been a consistent performer this decade as he has provided solid defense (2008 AL Gold Glove) along with above average hitting. For the decade, he had a .302 AVG, 137 HR, 720 RBI, and 819 Runs. Young’s most recognized feat this decade was getting the game-winning hit for the AL squad in the 2006 All Star Game in Pittsburgh, which led to him winning the MVP of the Midsummer Classic.

6. Hanley Ramirez – Hanley currently finds himself as one of the bright young stars of the game after only 4 seasons in the league. Over his brief career, Hanley has already had one 30 HR-30 SB seasons and is the first shortstop since 1960 to win an NL batting title, which came last season. He also was the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year for the Florida Marlins. For his career, he has a .316 AVG, 103 HR, 313 RBI, 470 Runs, and an impressive 164 SB. The future is bright for this kid as he expects to add a few more 30-30 seasons before his career is over.

5. Nomar Garciaparra – Over the first part of the decade, Nomar was one of the best shortstops in all of baseball. From 2000-2004, Nomar was a 3-time All Star and led the league with a .372 AVG in 2000, which was the highest AVG for any right handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio over 70 years ago. Since 2005, Nomar has seen his career filled with injuries except for the 2006 season where he was awarded the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award with the Los Angeles Dodgers. For the decade, Nomar had a .308 AVG, 133 HR, 596 RBI, and 580 Runs. When healthy, Nomar was one of the best shortstops in the game.

4. Alex Rodriguez – Despite playing most of the decade at third base, “ARod” finds his name on this list due to his impressive 4 year run at shortstop from 2000-2003. During his time at shortstop, “ARod” won 3 consecutive HR titles, 2 Gold Gloves, and the 2003 AL MVP Award. As a shortstop, he had a .304 AVG, 197 HR, 527 RBI, and 516 Runs. There is no question, “ARod” is one of the best hitters in the game and his 4 year run at shortstop this decade was extremely impressive, steroids or not.

3. Jimmy Rollins – Rollins truly didn’t become an elite shortstop until the second part of the decade. While always a solid performer, his career has taken off over the last three seasons. 2007 was Rollins best year of the decade as he won the NL MVP Award with a .296 AVG, 30 HR, 94 RBI, 41 SB, and an astounding 139 Runs. Also that year, Rollins won his first of 3 consecutive NL Gold Glove Awards. For the decade, Rollins had a .274 AVG, 146 HR, 621 RBI, 326 SB, and 945 Runs. He is currently one of the premier leadoff hitters in the game as he combines excellent speed with a rare form of power that is not commonly seen from that spot in the lineup. While I feel Rollins is an excellent player both offensively and defensively, it’s hard for me to see him ranked higher than ARod on this list.

2. Miguel Tejada – From 2000-2006, Tejada was one of the best in the game offensively as he put up some impressive numbers with the Oakland A’s and Baltimore Orioles. During those years, he averaged 29 HR, 116 RBI, and 102 Runs a year with only one season (2000) where he didn’t play in all 162 games. His best year was in 2002 when he was awarded the AL MVP with a  .308 AVG, 34 HR, 131 RBI, and 108 Runs. In 2004, Tejada led the AL with an impressive 150 RBI with the Orioles. He was a 6-time All Star this decade and was named the All-Star MVP in 2005. However, Tejada found his name linked to the highly publicized steroids controversy, which brought into question his use of the drug(s). Since 2006, Tejada has not hit more than 18 HR or driven in 100 runs in a season, which further shows the benefits steroids had on his production. Tejada would finish the decade with a .297 AVG, 251 HR, 1,046 RBI, and 960 Runs.

1. Derek Jeter – No one represents the Yankee tradition quite like Derek Jeter. The lifelong Yankee has been a consistent performer for the team since 1995 and is one of the most respected and well-liked players in all of baseball by both fans and fellow players. The man they call “Mr. November” has been a clutch performer throughout his career and added to that belief by winning the World Series MVP Award in 2000. For the decade, Jeter had a .317 AVG (tops among all shortstops), 161 HR, 727 RBI, 219 SB, and 1,088 Runs. He was also an 8-time All Star and was named the All-Star MVP back in 2000. Jeter also gets it done on the defensive side as his trademark jump throw and dive into the seats at Yankee Stadium are a few of the things that are associated with him. He won 3 consecutive AL Gold Glove Awards from 2004-2006 and remains one of the best in the game despite heading towards the end of his career. I can’t think of a better choice for this spot as he has become a model for the position and one that youngsters strive to be like.

This past decade has seen some pretty impressive players come from the shortstop position. The talent seen on this list is incredible and the position is anchored by players who possess speed, power, and great defense. The position should be in good hands for the next decade as Hanley Ramirez looks poised to take his name to the top.

Up Next: Top 9 Third Basemen of the Decade

Milton Bradley, rightfielder for the Chicago Cubs, was the National League LVP.  Other names mentioned for the NL LVP included Emilio Bonifacio, Florida Marlins; Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta Braves/New York Mets; Jason Kendall, Milwaukee Brewers; Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers; Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants; and Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs.

Posnanski’s analysis was based mostly on the players production in relation to their salary, which is the main reason Bradley and Wells took home the prize. Both players are perfect examples of what baseball insiders and prognosticators view as “unmovable contracts.” In recent years, many teams were trying to adopt the “Yankees” approach by buying a World Series’ contender. However, some teams such as the Cubs and Blue Jays gave big money to players like Soriano, Bradley, and Wells and are now wishing they could find a trade market for these players.

One obvious omission is Barry Zito (LHP) of the San Francisco Giants. Last year, Zito posted 10 wins and 13 losses, along with an ERA of 4.03. While not terrible numbers, is that really the production the Giants were looking to get for 18.5 million? What do you think of Posnanski’s analysis? Is there anyone else that should be included in this list?

After reading this list, I scrolled down the page and took a look at Baseball America’s top prospects of the decade list for the Cubs. Such names as Corey Patterson, Mark Prior, and Felix Pie once graced the title of being the Cubs top prospect. From that list the only players still with the organization are reliever Angel Guzman and current No. 3 prospect Josh Vitters. What does this say about the Cubs’ ability to develop players in their system? It’s no secret to Cubs’ fans that the the organization is notorious for not being able to produce homegrown talent. New owner, Tom Ricketts, recently expressed his desire to win on a consistent basis. His outlook on becoming a winner on a yearly basis is for the organization to consistently develop their minor league talent and have them ready to contribute to the big league club.

The Florida Marlins are a great example of an organization that puts out competitive, pesky teams with homegrown talent and minimal resources. The Cubs obviously have a huge leg up on the Marlins in terms of resources due to being in a large market. I can only imagine how ecstatic teams like the Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays would be if they had the Cubs’ payroll.

Baseball America’s Top Ten List of Cubs Prospects

1. Starlin Castro, ss
2. Brett Jackson, of
3. Josh Vitters, 3b
4. Andrew Cashner, rhp
5. Jay Jackson, rhp
6. Hak-Ju Lee, ss
7. Logan Watkins, 2b
8. Chris Carpenter, rhp
9. Ryan Flaherty, ss/2b/3b
10. D.J. LeMahieu, ss/2b