Ernie Banks' Powerful Prime Was the First Sign of What Was Possible at Shortstop
Before there was Ripken, there was Mr. Cub, doing his thing and hitting lots of taters.
Being an MLB shortstop means something very different today compared to what it used to mean. In previous eras, players at this position of the diamond weren’t exactly known for their offensive capabilities. Hitting homers and being a legitimate force in the middle of their team’s lineup was far from the minds of many.
Cal Ripken Jr., baseball’s Iron Man, is widely considered the man who “revolutionized” the shortstop position. The 6-foot, 4-inch Hall of Famer showed that someone of his size could excel on both sides of the ball.
Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks wasn’t quite as tall as Ripken (he was 6-foot, 1-inch), but he showed that a shortstop could provide plenty of offense at the dish well before Ripken paved the way for guys like Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, Alex Rodriguez, and that wonderful era of shortstops in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Blog Spotlight: Cubs All-Time HR Leaders
Before Sammy Sosa overtook him at the top of the Cubs’ all-time home run leaderboard, Banks was Chicago’s career HR king with 512 taters. His 47 homers in 1958 (which I’ll talk about in a minute) is still the single-season franchise record for shortstops.
Is Ernie Banks Remembered More as a Shortstop or a First Baseman?
Banks made his debut in the big leagues as a 22-year-old shortstop during the 1953 season. He spent most of his first nine seasons as the Cubs’ shortstop. However, playing that position became too tough for the 30-year-old due to a knee injury he suffered while serving in the army.
He played in 104 games as a shortstop during the 1961 campaign and also played left field for 23 games before trying out first base. That’s pretty much where he stayed until the end of his Hall of Fame career in 1971.
As it turns out, Banks appeared in more big-league games as a first baseman (1,259) than as a shortstop (1,125). But before he made that permanent position switch, the right-handed slugger made sure to bring the noise and the funk consistently on the left side of the infield.
Revisiting Mr. Cub’s Incredible Run from 1957 to 1960
It was hard to find someone as consistently dominant as Banks during these four seasons. He suited up for at least 139 games in each campaign, appearing in at least 154 games on five occasions.
Banks also surpassed the 40-homer plateau five times as a big leaguer. Four of those seasons came during this span (1957-60). He led the league in homers (47), RBI (129), slugging percentage (.614), and total bases (379) in ‘58 on his way to winning his first MVP Award. He didn’t lead the league in homers the following year (he hit 45) but led the way in RBI again (143) while winning MVP yet again.
He capped off this run by finishing fourth in the 1960 MVP Award voting but led the way in homers (41) while winning his first (and only) Gold Glove Award.
Overall, an average year from Banks during this four-season stretch included a .293/.362/.586 line with 44 homers, 29 doubles, 123 RBI, and 106 runs scored—all while playing just about every day at one of the sport’s toughest positions.
Nobody hit more homers (176) or drove in more runs (491) than Mr. Cub during this time. Hank Aaron ranked second in both (153 homers and 476 RBI). There were also only three players with 30.0-plus fWAR during this time: Willie Mays (33.9, an outfielder), Mickey Mantle (33.7, an outfielder), and Banks (31.6, a shortstop).
Ripken most certainly paved the way for shortstops to become what they are today. But who knows what else Banks would’ve done there if he hadn't been forced to switch positions during his age-30 campaign.
Single-Season HR Performances | Career HR Performances | Postseason HR Leaders | HR Derby Performances
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I always enjoyed seeing WGN show Ernie Banks in the '80s during different Cubs broadcasts. Just a happy dude, playing a happy game!
I never knew Banks even played first, let alone that many games.