I love that moment. He's not showboating at all, and actually seems a little embarrassed by the attention. Definitely the greatest shortstop and one of the greatest personalities in baseball history.
@@joecamel914 it was always a thrill to watch him play the game even at times he was playing against my family which I love watching Ozzie seemed magical. Thanks Larry Ray.😊
agreed! i was in cooperstown for his induction into the hall of fame & he’s only got love for the sport and fans still. i remember he said he didn’t have much training as a kid, but he started developing his reaction time by throwing a baseball up high at night & he only had the light on the garage lighting a limited space for him to react & catch the baseball in time. ( he got hit on the head a few times apparently haha) he’s such an awesome athlete. i went on to be a fan of mcgwire & pujols but cards fans know how that worked out…
@@Shinobi33His "will" must not have been very strong, as he was barely passable ML hitter. Busch Stadium carpet covered average arm, backflip impressive though.
@@Mister8224 I think from that famous that famous play at San Diego you can tell his arm was better than just average. And with hitters today routinely hovering above and below the Mendoza line I'll take Ozzie's career .262 avg. Just saying......
Ozzie would get one more out than any other SS about every two games. That's 81 times a year. 2460 hits plus about 18 years x 81 = 3918. Close but not quite.
I am a diehard Cubs fan and still stood in line for 2 hours for an Ozzie Smith autograph, in full Cubs gear. It doesn't matter that our teams were rivals, he is a class act that transcends any team.
What people may not realize about Ozzie Smith is not only did he make the catches and stops - which other great shortstops have been able to do - but his throws to first were on time and accurate. His predecessor in St. Louis, Garry Templeton, make some tremendous stops, which became moot when he'd throw the ball over the 1st baseman's head. In his later years when his arm strength had diminished, Ozzie mastered the art of bouncing the ball on one hop off the turf to the 1st baseman.
To this day Ozzie is truly one of the most athletic MLB players of all time. His agility and verticle jump are insane, add his awareness, and speed, just beyond belief what he could do.
yeah hes strong and athletic how come he didn't hit more homeruns? I know he wasn't a power hitter but didn't he only have like 25 homeruns in his whole career
@@leg-end_0631 for some strange reason I always remember other people saying the same thing about Ozzie & his home runs. I’m gonna look it up but that always stood out to me & his flips!
Growing up, my dad always talked about “the wizard” and how important it was to be quick and well rounded. My dad is gone now, I no longer play the game, but it’s clear what he was talking about. The guy was unreal. Likely to never be another like him.
At 44 years old I still remember getting my picture taken with him and Willie McGee when I was in LL as a kid for getting 1st place. My best childhood memories were baseball and meeting him. Has been and will always be my favorite player of all time.
I’m a Cardinals fan born in 2006(I guess that’s good luck since they won that year) but I wish I could’ve grown up in the 80’s to witness Ozzie and all the other Cardinal legends from that 82 team.
Defence will always matter. The value has just shifted around. With batters hitting harder, but less often, a lot of the value you'd get from a great defensive SS has been spread around more to 3rd, and the outfield. As for strategy, that's literally the reason we see more strikeouts and HRs. Teams have gotten a lot better at positioning players before a batter swings, even without crazy overshifts. But you can't really "defend" a ball hit into the stands.
@@CanadaMMA very good points, I think the value exists in Vizquel struggling a bit to get in the HOF, but you can clearly see that Vizquel had nowhere near the stardom of Ozzie Smith. Close to very few people have. Strategies have become a lot more sophisticated, but hopefully a balance comes along though that closer resembles the yesteryear's style of play than what exists today. Homers and strikeouts are putting me to sleep.
The Wizard of Oz. One of the greatest nicknames in sports history. More impressively, it was truly fitting and deserved. Other guys were great defensive shortstops, but Ozzie Smith was SMOOOTH when he did it. Dude was Baryshnikov out there. If theres a heaven and im eligible, I want a chance to watch Ozzie Smith and Roberto Alomar to play a season together in their primes. They would be incredible together.
Now, top prospect Masyn Winn (SS) is promoted to the major leagues and is wearing number 0 to get as close to the wizard as possible. I'm glad to know that not only was Ozzie smith one of the best ss ever, but his legacy is bigger than we may have realized
Very underrated player, doesn't get talked about enough, 1 of the greatest shortstops EVER, Would love a card signed by him, unfortunately I live in Georgia
Not sure how somebody who makes it into the HOF is considered "underrated". He is widely considered to be one of the single best defensive players.....ever.
Ozzie is the greatest shortstop of all time! I was a diehard Expos fan but how much fun was it when the Cards were in the playoffs to see Ozzie work his magic?
Oh how I miss those classic Saturday NBC game of the week broadcasts. Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola were just beautiful to listen to for any real baseball fans.
You gotta love baseball. I used to wonder what it would've been like to have Ozzie and Brooks Robinson in the same infield. What a pleasure it was to be alive to witness such great men.
Hard to believe he played with Keith Hernandez. Two of the greatest with the glove at their position in the same infield. First year together they won the whole thing. Crazy how that works.
Ozzie is the man. Forever. I really hope the padres don't trade em all. Our turn. And ozzie is he best shortstop that played. Tatis can slam all day but ozzie will erase errors
That and there was literally no one else named Ozzie who played SS. Ripken, Jeter samething one name athletes who you knew right away who they're talking about
