Do you want big names? Big numbers? Big personalities? Welcome to All-Time #MLBRank, our ranking of the top 100 players in baseball history.
To create our list, an ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups of 162 players, based on both peak performance and career value.
The top 100 will roll out next week. This week, we bring you the top 10 at each position. Thursday brings the top 10 infielders by position of all time, followed by pitchers and catchers on Friday.
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TOP 10 SHORTSTOPS
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10. Alan Trammell
Teams
Detroit Tigers (1977-96)
Honors
Six-time All-Star (1980, '84-85, '87-88, '90), four Gold Gloves ('80-81, '83-84), World Series MVP ('84), three Silver Sluggers ('87-88, '90)
Championships
1 -- Detroit (1984)
Career stats
.285/.352/.415, OPS -- .767, Hits -- 2,365, HRs -- 185, RBIs -- 1,003
The player
A victim of circumstance. If the voters don't screw up the MVP award vote in 1987, his case for the Hall of Fame is almost identical to Larkin's, but because the writers blew that, they can subsequently make a phony distinction that penalizes one of the best shortstops ever. The only shortstops with his kind of resume are either in the Hall of Fame or not yet eligible (Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter). An inexcusable oversight. -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com MLB writer
One of the best eligible players not in the Hall of Fame, Trammell is a statistical match for Barry Larkin, but while Larkin cruised in, Trammell will have to await a Veterans Committee selection. He did a bit of everything on the field, more solid than flashy -- hit for average, decent power for a 1980s shortstop and won four Gold Gloves. Tigers fans will remember his great postseason in 1984, when he hit three home runs and drove in nine runs in eight games as the Tigers won their last World Series, with Trammell winning World Series MVP. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com senior writer
9. Joe Cronin
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1926-27), Washington Senators ('28-34), Boston Red Sox ('35-45)
Honors
Seven-time AL All-Star (1933-'35, '37-39, '41), Hall of Fame ('56)
Championships
None
Career stats
.301/.390/.468, OPS -- .857, Hits -- 2,285, HRs -- 170, RBIs -- 1,424
The player
One of the few Hall of Famers who were given up on as a young player. After the Pirates gave up on him, he landed with the Senators and became the AL's best shortstop of the 1930s, starting seven All-Star Games. He would have started more had All-Star Games begun earlier in his career. His long legacy in the game included stints as manager, general manager and AL president, although his tenure running the Red Sox included the team refusing to sign any black players. As AL president, however, he did hire MLB's first black umpire in 1966. -- Schoenfield
He wouldn't crack my top 10, but he's in a group of the very good pre-integration shortstops, along with George Davis, Arky Vaughn, or Luke Appling -- good players all, but not guys I'd take ahead of Luis Aparicio or Pee Wee Reese, let alone Trammell or Larkin. -- Kahrl
8. Barry Larkin
Teams
Cincinnati Reds (1986-2004)
Honors
12-time All-Star (1988-91, '93-97, '99-2000, '04), nine Silver Sluggers ('88-92, '95-96, '98-99), three Gold Gloves ('94-96), MVP ('95), Hall of Fame ('12)
Championships
1 -- Cincinnati (1990)
Career stats
295/.371/.444, OPS -- .815, Hits -- 2,340, HRs -- 198, RBIs -- 960
The player
An easy favorite to watch, but a weird bat-first rep in retrospect: just one 20-homer and one 30-homer season, no "black ink," but the one MVP award and the one World Series win. And that's more than enough in my book. -- Kahrl
If Ernie Banks was Mr. Cub, then Larkin must be Mr. Red (no offense to the mascot of the same name). Born and raised in Cincinnati, Larkin spent the entirety of his 19-year Hall of Fame career with his hometown team, leading the Reds to two postseason appearances and a World Series crown in 1990. -- Scott Lauber, ESPN.com Red Sox reporter
7. Robin Yount
Teams
Milwaukee Brewers (1974-93)
Honors
Three-time All-Star ('80, '82-'83), three Silver Sluggers ('80, '82, '89), Gold Glove ('82), two-time MVP (1982, '89), Hall of Fame ('99)
Championships
None
Career stats
.285/.342/.430, OPS -- .772, Hits -- 3,142, HRs -- 251, RBIs-- 1,406
The player
Yount's 1982 season might be the best ever for a shortstop: He hit .331/.379/.578 with 29 home runs, leading the AL in slugging, OPS, doubles and hits and won a Gold Glove for the pennant-winning Brewers. He never matched those numbers again but was a model of consistency and even won a second MVP Award after moving to center field when he hurt his shoulder. -- Schoenfield
Before the move to the outfield, Yount compiled almost two-thirds of his career value via WAR at shortstop (50.4 of 77.0). A big chunk of that came from his 10.5 WAR season in 1982, the third-best year ever by a shortstop. -- Kahrl
6. Ozzie Smith
Teams
San Diego Padres (1978-81), St. Louis Cardinals ('82-96)
Honors
13 Gold Gloves (1980-92), 15-time All-Star ('81-92, '94-96), Silver Slugger ('87), Hall of Fame (2002)
Championships
1 -- St. Louis (1982)
Career stats
.262/.337/.328, OPS -- .666, Hits -- 2,460, HRs -- 28, RBIs -- 793
The player
Baseball has a way that, once a player earns a label, he never loses it. Ozzie is the greatest defensive shortstop of all time, and it will be impossible, it seems, for anyone to overtake him. He had amazing range, a quick release and acrobatic athleticism. Once a terrible hitter, he even turned himself into a tough out at the plate, hitting for decent averages and drawing walks to go with excellent speed on the bases. -- Schoenfield
The greatest defensive shortstop in the history of the game, with an MLB-best defensive WAR value of 43.4 offering a numeric "amen." Because I'm inclined to put A-Rod and Wagner into a separate category, I'm still more interested in Ozzie vs. Cal for best shortstop ever arguments ... and I could happily agree to either. -- Kahrl
Go crazy, folks! Ozzie Smith is too high on this list, or maybe he is too low. No matter what you think of Smith's production at the plate, there isn't a player in baseball history who starts and stops the conversation about defense at a position quite like the Wizard of Oz does. And there isn't a pitcher alive who wouldn't do backflips about having Smith standing behind him on the diamond. -- Dan Mullen, ESPN.com senior MLB editor
5. Derek Jeter
Teams
New York Yankees 1995-2014
Honors
Rookie of the Year (1996), 14-time All Star ('98-2002, '04, '06-12, '14), All-Star MVP ('00), World Series MVP ('00), five Gold Gloves ('04-06, '09-10), five Silver Sluggers ('06-09, '12)
Championships
5 -- New York (1996, '98-2000, '09)
Career stats
.310/.377/.440, OPS -- .817, Hits - 3,465, HRs -- 260, RBIs -- 1,311
The player
His clutch play, particularly in the postseason, earned him nicknames such as "Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November." Jeter's legendary career as a Yankee cemented him as one of the most beloved New York sports figures of all time. -- Katie Strang, ESPN.com Tigers reporter
I suppose there might still be a petty rear-guard argument over whether he should have moved off short, but what's the point? He wasn't a great defender, but he was a great asset. -- Kahrl
To appreciate Jeter's impact on a generation of players, look no further than Red Sox All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who grew up in Aruba idolizing the Yankees captain to the point that he has mimicked his patented "jump throw" from the grass in shallow left field. Jeter spent 20 seasons in the big leagues and never played for a losing team. That can't be a coincidence. -- Lauber
4. Cal Ripken Jr.
Teams
Baltimore Orioles (1981-2001)
Honors
Rookie of the Year (1982), two-time MVP ('83, '91), 19-time All-Star ('83-2001), eight Silver Sluggers ('83-86, '89, '91, '93-94), two-time All-Star MVP ('91, '01), two Gold Gloves ('91-92), Hall of Fame ('07)
Championships
1 -- Baltimore (1983)
Career stats
.276/.340/.447, OPS -- .788, Hits -- 3,184, HRs - 431, RBIs -- 1,695, Double Plays Grounded Into -- 350 (all-time leader), 2,632 consecutive games played (all-time leader)
The player
You know the resume: durability, defense and power, because we can't exactly put a number on "belovedness" (and would he beat Ozzie or Jeter?). I figure earning the "Iron Man" label from Gehrig was ultimately self-destructive, but if you want to call Ripken the best shortstop ever, you won't get much argument from me. His 1991 season is still the greatest year put up by a shortstop. -- Kahrl
The man did not miss a game for 13 years. To put that into perspective, 3,713 major-league players took at least one turn the disabled list during Ripken's streak of 2,632 consecutive games, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. -- Lauber
3. Ernie Banks
Teams
Chicago Cubs (1953-71)
Honors
14-time All-Star (1955-62*, '65, '67, '69), two-time MVP (1958-59), Gold Glove ('60), Hall of Fame ('77)
*Played in two All-Star Games in '59, '60 and '62
Championships
None
Career stats
.274/.330/.500, OPS -- .830, Hits -- 2,583, HRs - 512, RBIs -- 1,636
The player
Everybody loves Ernie Banks, but the truth is that he had only half a great career. In the first part, he was one of the greatest shortstops ever, a power-hitting two-time MVP. Then his knees went bad and he moved to first base, but provided little value in the second half of his career, posting some solid home run numbers but with low batting averages and OBPs. Still, he'll be remembered as the most beloved Cub of all time. -- Schoenfield
As an extreme fly-ball hitter in Wrigley Field when it was all day games there, we shouldn't be surprised by the big home/road split, with an .886 Wrigley OPS vs. .773 on the road. He was made for the place, and not everybody is or was. He played more than half his career games at first base, with the Cubs moving him to make way for the immortal Andre Rogers. -- Kahrl
2. Alex Rodriguez
Teams
Seattle Mariners (1994-2000), Texas Rangers ('01-03), New York Yankees ('04-13, '15-present)
Honors
14-time All-Star (1996-98, '00-08, '10-11), 10 Silver Sluggers ('96, '98-03, '05, '07-08), two Gold Gloves ('02-03), three-time MVP (2003, '05, '07)
Championships
1 -- New York (2009)
Career stats*
.296/.380/.551, OPS -- .932 Hits -- 3,111 HRs -- 695, RBIs -- 2,083
*Stats through July 10, 2016
The player
Obviously, his legacy will be forever tarnished, but there's no denying his production on the field. Rodriguez at age 20, when he hit .358 with 36 home runs and 54 doubles, was as gifted a player as I've ever seen. He has won three MVP Awards and was the runner-up twice, including in 1996, when Juan Gonzalez won over him, which was a travesty. He also is closing in on 700 home runs, is eighth all time in runs, third in RBIs and 16th in Baseball-Reference WAR. The only players ahead of him born after 1940 are Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. That trio might never see Cooperstown. -- Schoenfield
Like it or not, he did play the majority of his games in the field at short, only moving because he was traded to Jeterville. If Bonds is the ultimate litmus test on HOF voting for PED users, A-Rod is PED Litmus 2.0. The ruin of the last six seasons erased his shot at overtaking Bonds for the HR record: In 2010, he was at 613 and had hit 30 in 14 of 15 seasons. He has done it once since. Five short of 700, he might not even reach that. -- Kahrl
1. Honus Wagner
Teams
Louisville Colonels (1897-99), Pittsburgh Pirates (1900-17)
Honors
Hall of Fame (1936)
Championships
1 -- Pittsburgh (1909)
Career stats
.328/.391/.467, OPS -- .858, Hits -- 3,420, HR -- 101, RBIs -- 1,732
The player
The greatest player some of you haven't heard of and none of us has seen, Wagner is first in WAR among shortstops, first in OPS+, fourth in OPS, and first in fun anecdotes about his throwing so hard that gravel would arrive at first base with his throws.The combo of Paul Bunyan legendry and huge numbers as a foundational great of one of the NL's original eight make him the easy, reflexive No. 1 for most. -- Kahrl
There's an argument for Wagner as the greatest player of all time. He was big, strong and fast, and while he didn't hit many home runs because he played in the dead ball era, if you transported him to 2016 he would undoubtedly hit for a lot of power. He was also one of the best old players ever, winning six of his eight batting titles after turning 30. In the first Hall of Fame induction, he received the same number of votes as Babe Ruth (although fewer than Ty Cobb). -- Schoenfield