Ron Santo/HoF 3 Base (Return)

On page 343 in The Politics of Glory Bill James does address Ron Santo:

I will not continue the argument (I believe that Steinberg has caved already anyway), but instead offer the theory presented by James for the lack of 3rd baseman in the Hall of Fame.

This theory is that 3rd baseman are "half-and-half" players. That is, they are half power/slugging hitters and they are half quick/great defensive players.

The argument is that people recognize that short stops need to be smaller and quicker and their defense is more important. Corner outfielders and first baseman should be sluggers, and people recognize that too. But people don't realize that there is something in between those two standards, and that, James argues, is what the third baseman is. Typically, he should have more power than a middle infielder, but should be better defensively than the left fielder or first baseman.