Shortstops have pretty much always been poor hitters. Sure, sure, there's usually always some stars at the position, but generally, guys like Hal Lanier and Don Kessinger can stay starters for a long time without doing much at the plate. Even today, offensive black holes like Craig Counsell and Abraham Nunez (among others) stick around because they can play the position. When you find yourself in need of a classic example of a no-hit utility infielder, Doug Flynn always works (okay, okay, he's more a second baseman than shortstop).

I bring all this up because there are a lot of bad hitting shortstops around the majors right now. Brian Bixler, starting today for the Pirates, has a hit and will likely raise his batting average without doing anything else as long as the game lasts less than 13 innings or so. He had a .176/.253/.206 line in 68 at bats coming into the day. That's not much playing time and his numbers could definitely improve given a hot streak that lasts a couple days, but there's no denying he's been awful so far.

He's hardly the only shortstop to flail away at the plate. Brian Bocock of the Giants was so bad (.143/.258/.156) he was replaced by Emmanuel Burriss earlier this month. Burriss is lighting up the league to the tune of .250/.286/.308. The Baltimore Orioles, having traded Miguel Tejada this past offseason, have run out Luis Hernandez, Brandon Fahey, and Freddie Bynum at short with, uh, limited success.

Incredibly, those teams aren't even the worst in the league (by OPS) at the shortstop position. No, that honor goes to the Royals, where incumbent Tony Pena Jr. has a .177/.203/.230 line. Overall, the Royals have a robust .470 OPS coming from short. Consider this: since 2000, there have been 17 pitchers with over 146 career PA (the number Royals shortstops had coming into the day) and a career OPS of .470 or better.

If you want to see the whole list with home runs, RBI, and other usual stats, you can click here. Below I've posted a table with just the number of plate appearances and rate stats for each team's shortstops for quick reference.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find my baseball glove.