Move over Hanley’s here

You probably never even realized.  How could you?  The bright lights of New York had you blinded or maybe the fans in Philly bullied you into thinking something else. Contrary to popular belief the best shortstop in baseball doesn’t reside in either one of those cities.  Hanley Ramirez is lost somewhere way down the coast out of sight and apparently out of mind.

The Rookie of the Year award apparently meant nothing.  You’d think that the honor would have tagged him as someone to look out for, but as his numbers continue to give his more heralded counterparts a proverbial beat down they continue to get all the acclaim that should be going to Ramirez. The skill level and output between the players is simply ridiculous, there is absolutely nothing to dissect, if Hanley Ramirez is Joe DiMaggio then the other guys would be Dom.

Ok, that comparison may be a little bit of a reach, but no more so than saying that Jose Reyes or Jimmy Rollins are the best shortstops in the National League.  We’re not even going to talk about the American League shortstops, which include the most criminally overrated baseball player in the world, Derek Jeter.  Sure, the guy has had his moments but the hype has gotten way out of hand.  The way people talk about Mr. November you’d expect him to go out onto the field in a cape.  He’s not Superman, or even Robin for that matter.  The guy is more Roberto Alomar than Ted Williams.  Then again, I guess it goes with the Territory of playing in pin-stripes.  Either they love you or order a hit.  It’s not really Jeter’s fault that his skills have become grossly overrated.

So why isn’t Hanley Ramirez the face of the NL shortstops?  He’s young, explosive, and easily the most talented.  Sure he gives up a few statistical categories like stolen bases and runs.  Who cares?  He’s absolutely killing the competition in everything else.  Ramirez’s batting average:  .340.  Rollins and Reyes clock in at .290 and .302.   On-base percentage, we got you there too.  Ramirez paces his competition at a .394 clip.  Slugging?  Yup, his .575 average tops Rollins .520 and embarrasses Reyes’ .451.  The list just goes on and on like this with Ramirez leading in every offensive category besides runs, stolen bases and RBI. 

Next time you have a chance you should tune into a Marlins game and appreciate what is going to be a monster once he finally escapes the confines of Florida. The All-Star snub won’t happen again, I can assure you that.  After he wins the NL batting title how could it?  We aren’t talking about Freddy Sanchez either, you can expect Hanley to compete every year. Jeter and Reyes just better hope that he doesn’t land back home in Boston or in another media friendly town or the crown is going to be back with it’s rightful owner.