Your premier keystone combination

[dustcover]

After watching the amazing double play by Pedroia and Bogaerts in the seventh inning, I began reflecting on some of the great American League keystone combinations that I’ve been fortunate enough to see.

For close to 20 years, 1977 through 1996, the Tigers had a premier keystone combination with Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker.

And the mid-50’s through the mid-60’s Kubek and Rchardson of the Yankees comes to mind. Also in the mid-50’s to mid-60’s the White Sox had a formidable tandem of Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox.

So which keystone combination stands out in your mind as the tandem you’d build your team around?

[S5Dewey]

KC of the mid 70's. Freddie Patek and Cookie Rojas.

[notin]

KC of the mid 70's. Freddie Patek and Cookie Rojas.

Frank White was better...

[dustcover]

Frank White was better...

Just to focus on that issue a bit, the Patek/Rojas tandem played together from 1971-1975 when White took over 2B from 1976-1979.

Defensively, I can't unequivocally compare Frank White at 2B with Octavio Victor (Cookie) Rojas. (Had to sneak that in!)

However Rojas career spanned 16 years and White 18 years, and their offensive stats are quite comparable. Rojas BA .263 and OBP .306 while White had BA .255 and OBP .293

That being said, as good as they were, the tandems of Patek/Rojas and Patek/White in my opinion were 2nd tier combos to the elite level.

[Bellhorn04]

I don't really know for sure. But you can't make the plays at second much better than Pedroia has for us.

How would a tandem of prime Omar Vizquel and prime Pedroia look?

[notin]

Really Vizquel and Roberto Alomar was about as good as it ever got.

[Bellhorn04]

Old?

Vizquel is like 49...

You missed the word 'prime' that I so carefully inserted.

[dustcover]

I don't really know for sure. But you can't make the plays at second much better than Pedroia has for us.

How would a tandem of prime Omar Vizquel and prime Pedroia look?

Undoubtedly fantasy combos could be created that would be elite, and Pedroia & Vizquel would certainly make for a great tandem, but I was referencing pre-existing 2B/SS that played together.

[dustcover]

Really Vizquel and Roberto Alomar was about as good as it ever got.

Yeah, now you're talking. Vizquel & Alomar as a keystone combination is hard to top. Although both played for numerous teams in their respective careers, if memory serves me, they made for a brilliant combo for the Indians in the 1999-2001 seasons.

[Maxbialystock]

Ozzie Smith at SS and almost anyone at 2B.

Our current keystone combination is probably average at best. Bogaerts doesn't have much range and only a decent not great arm. He benefits from being teamed with Pedroia, who nevertheless has lost a step.

[Behindenemylines]

Ozzie Smith at SS and almost anyone at 2B.

Our current keystone combination is probably average at best. Bogaerts doesn't have much range and only a decent not great arm. He benefits from being teamed with Pedroia, who nevertheless has lost a step.

Bogaerts has improved a lot though. It was only a couple of seasons ago that the Sox FO believed he was not the answer at SS. With his O he only needs to make the plays an every day short stop must make. Its kind of the opposite of what we were saying about JBJ. Because of his D he only needed to hit .250 and have an average OPS.

[dustcover]

I'm a bit surprised that when it comes to past and present 2B/SS combo's, no one has brought up Jeter and Cano.

[Bellhorn04]

I'm a bit surprised that when it comes to past and present 2B/SS combo's, no one has brought up Jeter and Cano.

That's because the advanced fielding metrics revealed that Jeter had poor range, especially by the time Cano came along.

[Jasonbay44]

Even though he played for the Yankees, I really did enjoy watching Cano field, that dude has a cannon and makes it look effortless, almost too effortless at times.

[sk7326]

After watching the amazing double play by Pedroia and Bogaerts in the seventh inning, I began reflecting on some of the great American League keystone combinations that I’ve been fortunate enough to see.

For close to 20 years, 1977 through 1996, the Tigers had a premier keystone combination with Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker.

And the mid-50’s through the mid-60’s Kubek and Rchardson of the Yankees comes to mind. Also in the mid-50’s to mid-60’s the White Sox had a formidable tandem of Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox.

So which keystone combination stands out in your mind as the tandem you’d build your team around?

Whitaker is among the very top of the list of biggest HoF omissions ... not as big as Raines, but also less likely to get help ... Trammell also