the best

Quick hands, quick feet, (3.7 to first base home from the right hand batter's box) and tremendous power with no one to protect him in the Cubs lineup (Williams and Santo came after Ernie had been moved to 1st base). Banks played before the age of expansion and long before steroids had fouled the record book. Hit 512 homeruns, won two MVP's (at shortstop), and set the then record for the least amount of errors for at short for a season (12 in 1959 for a .985 fielding percentage).

Spent a lot of time at first base in the second half of his career,evidently not a superb fielder, but an extremely upbeat, likeable guy, who was one of the great sluggers at the position, and indeed all of baseball in the 50's. Easily the most popular Cub of all time, a Hall of Famer.

A colorful character whose landmark phrase was let's play two. Deserves a ring the second most of anyone in history behind only Ted Williams.

Again, overall package with Ripken and Wagner. A shame he did not win a Series during his career, but he is a deserved first-ballot HOF'er.

I have to agree on the comments about playing too few games at SS. I remember him as a 1st baseman in the 60s.

Solid player

Banks and Ripken were the two best offensive shortstops before the current batch arrived. Banks would be a 5 on this list, but he actually played more games at first. He didn't play a game of SS in his last ten years of his career, which keeps him from being a 5.