Cardinals History: Celebrating one of the best shortstops of all-time in Ozzie Smith

There was something magical about The Wizard, and as the years go on, it's important that St. Louis Cardinals fans and the baseball community alike do everything in their power to tell the story of one of the greatest shortstops to ever play the game.

Today is Ozzie Smith's 70th birthday, and one can't help but think of the incredible smile The Wizard has on a day like this. The story of baseball in the 1980s and 1990s cannot be told without the backflipping, 13-time Gold Glove-winning, Hall of Fame inductee shortstop who spent most of his career with the Cardinals.

At the 1981 Winter Meetings, Whitey Herzog's pursuit of the best defensive shortstop in the game came to fruition in a seven-player trade that sent Garry Templeton to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Smith. A gutsy move at the time considering Templeton's offensive prowess, Herzog had a vision for his team that required a player like Smith up the middle, and the Cardinals convinced Smtih to waive his no-trade clause to become a part of something special that was building in St. Louis.

Smith quickly became a fan favorite in St. Louis, and he headlined what became known as "Whiteyball" in St. Louis alongside other Cardinals' legends like Willie McGee, Keith Hernandez, Tom Herr, Vince Coleman, Terry Pendleton, Joaquin Andujar, Bob Forsch, John Stuper, Bruce Sutter, and so many others that impacting winning during those years.

Smith wasn't built in the mold of today's top shortstops. While players like Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Corey Seager, and Francisco Lindor consistently hit 25+ home runs a season, Smith finished with just 28 in his entire career, slugging a career-high of six home runs in 1985. That never quite mattered for Smtih and his game though, as his defense was truly generational, and paired with the elite stolen base threat that he was and developing pretty good on-base skills, Smith was one of the best to ever play the position.

The Wizard still holds the MLB record for most Gold Gloves by a shortstop in their career, and I have a feeling that record will stand for a long time. Until Brandon Crawford retired earlier this offseason, he was the next closest active shortstop in terms of Gold Glove awards with just four, nine away from Smith's incredible 13. His streak of 13 straight Gold Gloves from 1980-1992 is arguably the greatest stretch of defensive baseball the game has ever seen.

Smith ranks first all-time among all players in assists with 8375, over 300 more than the second-place finisher in Luis Aparicio. He's second among all shortstops in doubles plays turned and fourth in innings logged at the position. Most incredible of all in my opinion is his TZ ranking of 239 (Total zone in runs above average), which is first among shortstops by a wide margin.

Unfortunately, many of today's top advanced defensive analytics were not around early enough to track Smith, but surely he'd have some eye-popping numbers when it comes to DRS, OAA, or whatever defensive metrics you use today.

While Smith wasn't a force at the plate, it is notable that he ranks in the top 25 among shortstops all-time in doubles and 19th in runs scored. A testament to how he embodied Whiteyball, Smith is also fifth all-time among shortstops in stolen bases with 580 and ranks within the top 20 in sacrifice flys and sacrifice hits. In total, Smith ranks 8th in bWAR and 9th in fWAR among shortstops all-time.

The most iconic moment of his career did come at the plate though, as almost every baseball fan knows the iconic call from Hall of Famer Jack Buck after Smith snuck a walk-off home run over the right field wall against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLCS, we got the iconic call of "Go crazy folks, go crazy. It's a home run, and the Cardinals have won the game!".

There'll never be another Ozzie Smith on the field, but it's also safe to say that few people in Cardinals history can embody the personality, heart, and passion that The Wizard has brought to Cardinals' baseball in the many years he has remained with the organization since his playing days.

Since retiring, Smith has held roles as a color commentator for Cardinals games, a special instructor at Spring Training, been the host of Cardinals' Insider, and truly is an ambassador for the Cardinals' organization in so many ways.

So, let's all wish Happy Birthday to The Wizard, Ozzie Smith, who is not just a Cardinals' legend, but also one of the greatest players in baseball history, and whose impact off the field will be felt for years and years to come.