Ozzie Smith is unquestionably one of the best defensive middle infielders of all time. From the moment he debuted with the Padres in 1978, he changed the way baseball fans thought about what a shortstop could contribute on the field.
Indeed, it was in that season that he made what some consider to be the very best defensive play in modern baseball history:
Today, Smith is 61, and is a coach at Spring Training with the Cardinals. But even at his age, he can still turn a double play oh so smoothly, and make a leaping throw.
He’s playing second base in this video, but he can scoop and turn so quickly:
I won’t call anyone out by name, but there are infielders playing in the bigs today, 30+ years younger than Smith, who probably don’t look that smooth.