Ozzie Smith
Ozzie Smith (born December 26, 1954) is a former Major League baseball player born in Mobile, Alabama. Smith is a 13-time Gold Glove shortstop who was elected to the United States Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. He is widely cited as the greatest defensive player of all time at his position.
Smith broke in with the San Diego Padres, and then was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1979. He would finish his career with the Cardinals.
A weak hitter early in his career, Smith improved at the plate through the years. He never had much power, however, because of his speed and somewhat average hitting skills he developed over the years, he was able to serve as a compotent leadoff hitter. His real asset was his glove, with which he often won more ballgames with then the hitters on his team did. Smith also had some speed, and had 580 steals in his total career, good for twentieth on the all time list.
Ozzie's greatest season came in 1987, when he had a .303 batting average, 43 stolen bases, 75 RBIs, 104 runs scored, and 40 doubles en route to helping the Cardinals get into the playoffs. It was one of the best seasons ever recorded by a weak power leadoff hitter like Smith (He had no home runs that season). He ended up second in the MVP balloting to Andre Dawson, who had played on the last placed Chicago Cubs.
Following the 1987 season, Ozzie was awarded the highest contract in the National Leagues at 2,340,000. He continued to be a good leadoff hitter with saavy baserunning skills and excellent for the rest of his career.
Smith is only the 37th player of the 252 elected to the Hall to date to be so honored in his first year of eligibility.