Gold Gloves: Fregosi, Cabrera (1 ea.)
All Stars: Fregosi (6), DiSarcina (1)
Postseason Appearances:
Eckstein, Cabrera (2 ea.), Schofield, Foli, Campaneris (1 ea.)
Games @ Short:
Fregosi - 1,367
Schofield - 1,073
DiSarcina - 1,069
Eckstein - 527
Cabrera - 446
Chalk - 305
OPS+:
Fregosi - 116
Cabrera - 89
Eckstein - 87
Chalk - 87
Schofield - 74
DiSarcina - 66
There can be no dispute that Jim Fregosi was the greatest shortstop in the history of this franchise. Fregosi is a franchise icon of individual achievement with countless Top Ten Offense records in club history.
Gary DiSarcina holds the club record for worst offensive career in club history for a player with at least 2,000 plate appearances - an OPS+ of 66, while Dick Schofield's OPS+ of 74 is not much better (Vlad Guerrero's franchise leading 149 hovers far above Time Salmon's 128 and Brian Downing's 126 which comprise the Top Three).
4th most games at SS belongs to David Eckstein with 527 games while Orlando Cabrera played 446 games there as an Angel. The only other player even remotely close to these numbers is Dave Chalk who played 305 games at short over parts of 5 seasons, although he is remembered more for being a mid-70s Third Baseman.
If postseason glory matters to you, than Bert Campaneris and Tim Foli warrant a mention for being in the right place at the right time on the 1979 and 1982 division championships respectively. Let's number them thusly: 6. Chalk, 7. Foli, 8. Campaneris
But for the #2-5, the fact that Schofield and DiSarcina played twice as many games at Short as Eckstein and Cabrera doesn't strengthen their cases - they should have gotten better, not worse. A short period of high achievement and contributing to postseason berths trumps years of toiling in mediocrity. I would offer: 4. Schofield, 5. DiSarcina.
So does the X-Factor's core contribution to the 2002 World Series as leadoff hitter, as well as his presence on the 2004 Division winning club trump Cabfare's 3 years of solid excellence and 2 division titles? Yes.
Angels Greatest Short Stops
1. Jim Fregosi
2. David Eckstein
3. Orlando Cabrera
4. Dick Schofield
5. Gary DiSarcina
6. Dave Chalk
7. Tim Foli
8. Bert Campaneris