Hanley Who?

Hanley Ramirez. The 2006 NL Rookie of the Year has quietly become the NL's best shortstop, and one could say even the best in baseball. With shortstops like Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, and Edgar Renteria, being considered the best shortstop in the NL is no easy feat to accomplish. And like I said, one could argue he's the best in all of baseball, which would mean he would be better than Derek Jeter. If you're a New York Yankees fan you can either ignore that statement or just concede and accept that Ramirez is the best at his position.

The 23-year old Dominican is currently sporting the best BA (.341) among shortstops and places 4th overall in Major League Baseball. During his current 10 game hitting streak Hanley has hit 4 HRs, driven in 9 RBIs, scored 9 Rs, and collected 7 SBs. He leads the Florida Marlins in Runs, BA, and SBs. Without the overweight but very talented Miguel Cabrera, Ramirez would be carrying the team. Not only is he consistent (batted over .300 in every month except May (.279)), he is the definition of clutch. In close and late situations Ramirez is hitting .391, with 4HRs and 15RBIs. With men in scoring position and 2 outs he is hitting .311 and driven in 11RBIs. He however has done this all season to little or no applause because unfortunately he is stuck in America's wang, also known as Florida. Both Florida baseball teams, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Florida Marlins, are the only teams with under 1 million total attendance. The Marlins average only 16,909 fans a game and that's only slightly less worse than the last place team, you guessed it, the Devil Rays.

He does however have one glaring weakness, and that is his fielding. That can be taught and learned though. And with this guys love for the game (wanted to play and finish winter ball on his Dominican team after injuring his arm), that shouldn't too much of a stretch. Now I am certainly not implying anyone who knows their baseball doesn't know about Hanley Ramirez, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that everyone would be talking about this kid a lot more if he wasn't stuck in "hell".