Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals are revolutionizing what it means to be a shortstop in Major League Baseball.
Since the formation of the National League in 1876, this is a position that has always been one to stress sound defense — the game’s best dual threats possessing more slap-happy, small-ball, high-average bats than any sort of legitimate power.
Throughout Major League Baseball’s first 114 years, from 1876 to 1990, just three different men playing at least 75% of their games at shortstop hit 30 or more home runs in a single season: Verne Stephens of the Boston Red Sox (1949, 1950), Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs (1955, 1958, 1959, 1960), and Rico Petrocelli, also of the Red Sox in 1969.
Power began to crop up more often at the position in the 1990s with five different players (Cal Ripken Jr., Barry Larkin, Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Tony Batista) reaching the 30-homer mark in the decade. Rodriguez, however, re-wrote the position between the 1990s and early 2000s before his move to the Yankees and third base. He holds the record with seven 30-plus home-run seasons by a shortstop including a remarkable three-year stretch with the Texas Rangers from 2001-2003 in which he hit 52, 57, and 47 home runs — though steroids will always taint his reputation.
His emergence has helped revolutionize the position, regardless of his legacy, with 19 shortstops hitting 30 or more round-trippers since 2000.
Lindor is one of the headliners of that revolution with four 30-home-run seasons to his name. From 2017 to 2019 with Cleveland, he mashed 33, 38, and 32 home runs before hitting 31 last season with the Mets. Only Rodriguez has more 30-plus home run seasons as a shortstop as Lindor is tied with Banks and Miguel Tejada.
With 22 home runs through 114 games, Lindor is on pace for 31 home runs yet again in 2024, which would put him in sole possession of second place on that list.
Witt Jr. is also on the verge of entering an exclusive company from just a power-hitting standpoint. The Royal is on pace for 30 home runs with 22 in 116 games this season, which would give him his second straight 30-plus campaign. Only nine other shortstops (including Texas Rangers star Corey Seager) have had multiple seasons with that many homers.
What is continuing to set Witt and Lindor apart, though, is the blend of power and speed.
Of the 47 total seasons (by 27 players) in which a shortstop has hit 30 or more home runs, only six have stolen 30 or more bases: Barry Larkin in 1996, Rodriguez in 1998, Jimmy Rollins in 2007, Hanley Ramirez in 2008, and Lindor and Witt in 2023.
No shortstop in MLB history has ever had multiple 30/30 seasons let alone doing so in consecutive seasons. Both Lindor and Witt are on the precipice of doing just that. New York’s shortstop has 24 stolen bags while Kansas City’s star man has 25; both are on pace for 34 swipes by season’s end.
Witt is on his way toward receiving his proverbial flowers this year for such accolades. Batting a league-leading .349 with a 1.000 OPS and 84 RBI to go with those 22 home runs and 25 stolen bases, the 24-year-old also leads the majors with 162 hits, 99 runs, and 281 total bases. He is perceived as a top-two favorite for the American League MVP Award with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Lindor overcame a miserable start to the 2024 season and has quietly been one of the National League’s very best players. Since May 19 (69 games), he is batting .295 with an .890 OPS, 15 home runs, 44 RBI, and 18 stolen bases. Paired with his sterling defense, Lindor’s 5.1 fWAR and 4.4 bWAR are both the fourth-highest in the National League this season.
Witt’s fWAR (8.0) is No. 1 in all of baseball while his bWAR (7.5) ranks No. 2 behind Judge.
Not only are we watching two of the very best at their position, but this could very well be the continuation of a complete shift of what the game’s most successful shortstops look like — especially with the young Cincinnati Reds superstar Elly De La Cruz sporting 20 home runs and 58 stolen bases in his first full season in Major League Baseball.
