Cronin was a bad fielder, but one of the premier hitting shortstops between Wagner and Banks- capable of hitting .300 with over 100 RBI's and double digits in homers. Cronin played longer with the Red Sox, and actually began briefly with the Pirates in the 20's. However, his time with Washington was probably his zenith- in terms of the peak of his reputation if not necessarily his statistics. A Hall of Famer who served as the AL president after his career, Cronin was a player manager with both The Senators and Red Sox, winning a pennant in 1933 for Washington and one in 1946 for Boston. However, he is usually not regarded very highly in that role, as he wasn't a good handler of pitching staffs, and selfishly hung around too long, selling a highly regarded kid named Pee Wee Reese to Brooklyn when an aging Cronin felt threatened by the kid's talent. The best shortstop in Senators history, and for a long time regarded as a top 10 all time shortstop, though more recent guys have since surpassed him.
