5 Greatest Dodgers Shortstops of All Time

4. Corey Seager (2016-2021)

The current Rangers star undoubtedly belongs on this list, as he cemented his legacy with a 2020 playoff performance for the ages, winning NLCS and World Series MVP in an unforgettable postseason, for one reason or another. Oh, and he also slugged .585 in the COVID-shortened season.

Add two All-Star nods and a 2016 Rookie of the Year award-winning season that saw him finish third in MVP and Seager is solidly one of the most influential Dodgers in recent memory. Given the sort of resume he has put together in Arlington, where he also won a World Series ring, the Dodgers' eight-year, $250 million extension offer after 2021 feels like a lowball.

3. Bill Russell (1969-86)

This Bill Russell is not to be confused with the legendary Celtics center who wrapped up his career around the same time this Dodgers legend's career began. Needless to say, Russell left his mark on Dodgers history, playing eight and a half years with Steve Garvey, Darvey Lopes, and Ron Cey, and eventually became the team's manager.

Russell, who Tommy John lauded as the best shortstop he'd ever played with, also hit .412 in the 1978 NLCS and .423 in the World Series that followed, where the Dodgers fell in six games to the Yankees.

The three-time All-Star is #1 all-time in games played (2,181) since the franchise moved to Los Angeles.

2. Maury Wills (1959-66; 1969-72)

The legendary Willis is one of those players that brings to mind a different and long-ago era of baseball. Before Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr possessed a mind-blowing combination of power and speed, Willis paved the way to actually place value on the stolen base.

Willis is perhaps best known for his MVP award in 1962, a year where he broke the MLB record (previously held by Ty Cobb) with a whopping 104 stolen bases in a single year. His lethal speed, which guided him to five All-Star teams, also caught the attention of the rival Giants, who changed the area around first base into a muddied quagmire to try to slow him down.

In 1965, Willis stole 94 bases, more than any other team combined besides the St. Louis Cardinals, who stole 100. Not bad.

1. Pee Wee Reese (1940-42; 1946-58)

It's tough to succinctly describe the sort of presence Reese served for the Dodgers in the Jackie Robinson era, not just on the field, but off the field.

The 5-6, 160-pound Reese, who earned his nickname from his hobby as a competitive pee wee marble player, was undrafted out of high school and claimed to have built his baseball physique not in the gym but climbing telephone poles as a cable splicer for a phone company.

Reese parlayed his newfound strength into a semipro career that was so successful that Tom Yawkey, the then-owner of the Red Sox, moved mountains to try to secure the rights to him. However, Reese only ended up with the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1935 because Yawkey's Red Sox were steered by sure-handed shortstop Joe Cronin.

Reese's career with the Dodgers was nothing short of spectacular, even being bookended by three years in the Navy from 1943 to 1946. Aside from a career 68 wins above replacement and 10 All-Star appearances, Reese is also known as the first white ballplayer to accept the legitimacy of Robinson's place in the big leagues.

If any greater an endorsement was needed, legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully called Reese the 'heart and soul' of the Dodgers squads known as the Boys of Summer. Only one man can take the crown of the best shortstop in Dodgers history.