I love that moment. He's not showboating at all, and actually seems a little embarrassed by the attention. Definitely the greatest shortstop and one of the greatest personalities in baseball history.
@@joecamel914 it was always a thrill to watch him play the game even at times he was playing against my family which I love watching Ozzie seemed magical. Thanks Larry Ray.😊
agreed! i was in cooperstown for his induction into the hall of fame & he’s only got love for the sport and fans still. i remember he said he didn’t have much training as a kid, but he started developing his reaction time by throwing a baseball up high at night & he only had the light on the garage lighting a limited space for him to react & catch the baseball in time. ( he got hit on the head a few times apparently haha) he’s such an awesome athlete. i went on to be a fan of mcgwire & pujols but cards fans know how that worked out…
Ozzie would get one more out than any other SS about every two games. That's 81 times a year. 2460 hits plus about 18 years x 81 = 3918. Close but not quite.
@@Shinobi33His "will" must not have been very strong, as he was barely passable ML hitter. Busch Stadium carpet covered average arm, backflip impressive though.
@@Mister8224 I think from that famous that famous play at San Diego you can tell his arm was better than just average. And with hitters today routinely hovering above and below the Mendoza line I'll take Ozzie's career .262 avg. Just saying......
I am a diehard Cubs fan and still stood in line for 2 hours for an Ozzie Smith autograph, in full Cubs gear. It doesn't matter that our teams were rivals, he is a class act that transcends any team.
What people may not realize about Ozzie Smith is not only did he make the catches and stops - which other great shortstops have been able to do - but his throws to first were on time and accurate. His predecessor in St. Louis, Garry Templeton, make some tremendous stops, which became moot when he'd throw the ball over the 1st baseman's head. In his later years when his arm strength had diminished, Ozzie mastered the art of bouncing the ball on one hop off the turf to the 1st baseman.
At 44 years old I still remember getting my picture taken with him and Willie McGee when I was in LL as a kid for getting 1st place. My best childhood memories were baseball and meeting him. Has been and will always be my favorite player of all time.
To this day Ozzie is truly one of the most athletic MLB players of all time. His agility and verticle jump are insane, add his awareness, and speed, just beyond belief what he could do.
yeah hes strong and athletic how come he didn't hit more homeruns? I know he wasn't a power hitter but didn't he only have like 25 homeruns in his whole career
@@leg-end_0631 for some strange reason I always remember other people saying the same thing about Ozzie & his home runs. I’m gonna look it up but that always stood out to me & his flips!
I’m a Cardinals fan born in 2006(I guess that’s good luck since they won that year) but I wish I could’ve grown up in the 80’s to witness Ozzie and all the other Cardinal legends from that 82 team.
Growing up, my dad always talked about “the wizard” and how important it was to be quick and well rounded. My dad is gone now, I no longer play the game, but it’s clear what he was talking about. The guy was unreal. Likely to never be another like him.
The Wizard of Oz. One of the greatest nicknames in sports history. More impressively, it was truly fitting and deserved. Other guys were great defensive shortstops, but Ozzie Smith was SMOOOTH when he did it. Dude was Baryshnikov out there. If theres a heaven and im eligible, I want a chance to watch Ozzie Smith and Roberto Alomar to play a season together in their primes. They would be incredible together.
Ozzie is the greatest shortstop of all time! I was a diehard Expos fan but how much fun was it when the Cards were in the playoffs to see Ozzie work his magic?
You gotta love baseball. I used to wonder what it would've been like to have Ozzie and Brooks Robinson in the same infield. What a pleasure it was to be alive to witness such great men.
Very underrated player, doesn't get talked about enough, 1 of the greatest shortstops EVER, Would love a card signed by him, unfortunately I live in Georgia
Not sure how somebody who makes it into the HOF is considered "underrated". He is widely considered to be one of the single best defensive players.....ever.
Defence will always matter. The value has just shifted around. With batters hitting harder, but less often, a lot of the value you'd get from a great defensive SS has been spread around more to 3rd, and the outfield. As for strategy, that's literally the reason we see more strikeouts and HRs. Teams have gotten a lot better at positioning players before a batter swings, even without crazy overshifts. But you can't really "defend" a ball hit into the stands.
@@CanadaMMA very good points, I think the value exists in Vizquel struggling a bit to get in the HOF, but you can clearly see that Vizquel had nowhere near the stardom of Ozzie Smith. Close to very few people have. Strategies have become a lot more sophisticated, but hopefully a balance comes along though that closer resembles the yesteryear's style of play than what exists today. Homers and strikeouts are putting me to sleep.
Oh how I miss those classic Saturday NBC game of the week broadcasts. Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola were just beautiful to listen to for any real baseball fans.
Now, top prospect Masyn Winn (SS) is promoted to the major leagues and is wearing number 0 to get as close to the wizard as possible. I'm glad to know that not only was Ozzie smith one of the best ss ever, but his legacy is bigger than we may have realized
Ozzie is the man. Forever. I really hope the padres don't trade em all. Our turn. And ozzie is he best shortstop that played. Tatis can slam all day but ozzie will erase errors
Hard to believe he played with Keith Hernandez. Two of the greatest with the glove at their position in the same infield. First year together they won the whole thing. Crazy how that works.
"Well, Mr Burns had done it. The power plant had won it...." My Favourite song from the Simpsons. And what a great episode. I wonder of Ozzie ever got out of that hole?
That and there was literally no one else named Ozzie who played SS. Ripken, Jeter samething one name athletes who you knew right away who they're talking about
私が小さい時、日米野球でオジー・スミス選手の守備を観た。もう、あのアクロバティックな守備はとても日本選手には真似できないと思った。
メジャーはパワーだけでなく技術も桁違いに凄い。
「オズの魔法使い」ってニックネームもかっこよかった。
That ovation for 2K hits is louder and stronger than most guys get for 3,000. What a truly beloved player and class act. Goosebumps
I love that moment. He's not showboating at all, and actually seems a little embarrassed by the attention. Definitely the greatest shortstop and one of the greatest personalities in baseball history.
@@joecamel914 it was always a thrill to watch him play the game even at times he was playing against my family which I love watching Ozzie seemed magical. Thanks Larry Ray.😊
Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie
agreed! i was in cooperstown for his induction into the hall of fame & he’s only got love for the sport and fans still.
i remember he said he didn’t have much training as a kid, but he started developing his reaction time by throwing a baseball up high at night & he only had the light on the garage lighting a limited space for him to react & catch the baseball in time. ( he got hit on the head a few times apparently haha) he’s such an awesome athlete. i went on to be a fan of mcgwire & pujols but cards fans know how that worked out…
@@joecamel914 Ozzie Smith has the dWAR to prove that he's the GOAT ShortShop. Stay mad, Derek Jeter fanboys...
If Ozzie Smith got credited for a hit, every time he robbed one from a batter, he'd be your all time hit leader.
Ozzie would get one more out than any other SS about every two games. That's 81 times a year. 2460 hits plus about 18 years x 81 = 3918. Close but not quite.
@@edwardscheller7042 not sure whether to love or hate your comment, but well done :)
He's the all time defensive WAR leader, if that matters to you.
I met Ozzie Smith 3 years ago. He was so friendly and down to earth. A true legend for us St. Louis kids in the 80's.
He’s at Topgolf rn haha
Ozzie Smith has gotta be one of the only position players ever to finish 2nd in MVP voting with 0 homers what a legend
75 RBI without a single homer is impressive. Not to mention 43 out of 52 steals. Amazing player
What's crazy is that he was not a natural gifted hitter at all. But he willed himself into being one a good hitter by playing to his strengths.
Yea. Its pretty amazing when you think about it ⚾️💯💪
@@Shinobi33His "will" must not have been very strong, as he was barely passable ML hitter. Busch Stadium carpet covered average arm, backflip impressive though.
@@Mister8224 I think from that famous that famous play at San Diego you can tell his arm was better than just average. And with hitters today routinely hovering above and below the Mendoza line I'll take Ozzie's career .262 avg. Just saying......
Grew up watching Ozzie and listening on a m radio while fishing with my late father. This vid just put a huge smile and a small tear on my face.
beautiful
Ozzie Smith. My all time and forever, favorite baseball player. What a Gentlemen. What magic!
I'm a Cubs fan and absolutely love Ozzie. He was a hell of a player.
I am a diehard Cubs fan and still stood in line for 2 hours for an Ozzie Smith autograph, in full Cubs gear. It doesn't matter that our teams were rivals, he is a class act that transcends any team.
Total respect for the Wizard!!
What people may not realize about Ozzie Smith is not only did he make the catches and stops - which other great shortstops have been able to do - but his throws to first were on time and accurate. His predecessor in St. Louis, Garry Templeton, make some tremendous stops, which became moot when he'd throw the ball over the 1st baseman's head. In his later years when his arm strength had diminished, Ozzie mastered the art of bouncing the ball on one hop off the turf to the 1st baseman.
I defiantly know people are well aware of his throwing, most of his highlights are throwing
At 44 years old I still remember getting my picture taken with him and Willie McGee when I was in LL as a kid for getting 1st place. My best childhood memories were baseball and meeting him. Has been and will always be my favorite player of all time.
To this day Ozzie is truly one of the most athletic MLB players of all time. His agility and verticle jump are insane, add his awareness, and speed, just beyond belief what he could do.
Rey Ordonez, NY Mets
Artistic Defense, Stand Out
yeah hes strong and athletic how come he didn't hit more homeruns? I know he wasn't a power hitter but didn't he only have like 25 homeruns in his whole career
Jeter is the Goat
@@leg-end_0631 for some strange reason I always remember other people saying the same thing about Ozzie & his home runs. I’m gonna look it up but that always stood out to me & his flips!
I remember watching these games. Cardinals had some awesome players at this time and Ozzy is one of the greatest of all time.
An athlete, a gentleman and one of the most lovable players to ever grace the diamond.
Legend.
I’m a Cardinals fan born in 2006(I guess that’s good luck since they won that year) but I wish I could’ve grown up in the 80’s to witness Ozzie and all the other Cardinal legends from that 82 team.
That team was something special!
Growing up, my dad always talked about “the wizard” and how important it was to be quick and well rounded. My dad is gone now, I no longer play the game, but it’s clear what he was talking about. The guy was unreal. Likely to never be another like him.
Vizquiel came close
Masyn winn is a close second at least
Baseball was so much better then and Ozzie was so much fun to follow
You aren't joking!
1987 Ozzie had a magical year finished 4th in NL Mvp award 104 runs scored batted 303 average 40 doubles 182 hits 43 SB 75RBI .
Houston Astros just highlighted Ozzie! Amazing!! ⚾️⚾️ 8-22-2021! Much respect Sir!!
One of, theeee best shortstops ever!!!!!
Ozzie Smith was my dad's favorite player and mine is Rickey Henderson
People obviously know how good a defender Ozzie was, but he was also a solid offensive player. Especially for a shortstop of that era.
One of the classiest and most polished players MLB has ever had. Legend.
Proud to be a saint louis cardinals fan and live here!! Congratulations to the legendary wizard of ozz!!
Ozzie Smith‼️往年の偉大なプレイヤーだったのですね。
TH-camで、初めて知って彼の身体能力の高さや、神業の守備に驚き魅了されました👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
The Wizard of Oz. One of the greatest nicknames in sports history. More impressively, it was truly fitting and deserved. Other guys were great defensive shortstops, but Ozzie Smith was SMOOOTH when he did it. Dude was Baryshnikov out there.
If theres a heaven and im eligible, I want a chance to watch Ozzie Smith and Roberto Alomar to play a season together in their primes.
They would be incredible together.
An Ozzie Smith highlight or tribute video is not complete without the barehanded play when he was a Padre.
That's what I was looking for
I met Ozzie Smith today, no need to believe me but he was pretty chill and he was nice to listen too.
I met Ozzie Smith back in 1989.
I also saw the Cardinals in Bush statium before they tore it down.
First saw him play live in the 1982 World Series. It was settled after that. I was playing shortstop.
Ozzie is the greatest shortstop of all time! I was a diehard Expos fan but how much fun was it when the Cards were in the playoffs to see Ozzie work his magic?
I played shortstop all my life and was always fascinated by Ozzie doing a backflip running out on the field ! He’s a legend
He is better than Jeter. He owns the greatest play of all time. 13 GOLD GLOVES
Ozzie was arguably was the greatest defensive shortstop
Obviously Jeter was a far superior hitter
Jeter was one of the worst defending short stops of all time but ozzie isn't even close to the same hitter as jeter
@@chadm6767 Is that something you think Jeter would want to do?
No shit he’s better than jeter lol
You gotta love baseball. I used to wonder what it would've been like to have Ozzie and Brooks Robinson in the same infield. What a pleasure it was to be alive to witness such great men.
I think Brooks had more seperation between him & next best at 3rd base. Many were Ozzie's near equal in field & significantly more pop at bat.
Very underrated player, doesn't get talked about enough, 1 of the greatest shortstops EVER, Would love a card signed by him, unfortunately I live in Georgia
Not sure how somebody who makes it into the HOF is considered "underrated". He is widely considered to be one of the single best defensive players.....ever.
No ay palabras el mejor short stop de la historia el mago de Oz
The most amazing thing about this highlight reel? That day World Series game between the Cardinals and Brewers. Man they need to bring those back.
Too bad baseball has become a game of home runs and strike outs. Defense and strategy don't rank anymore.
Defence will always matter. The value has just shifted around. With batters hitting harder, but less often, a lot of the value you'd get from a great defensive SS has been spread around more to 3rd, and the outfield.
As for strategy, that's literally the reason we see more strikeouts and HRs. Teams have gotten a lot better at positioning players before a batter swings, even without crazy overshifts. But you can't really "defend" a ball hit into the stands.
@@CanadaMMA very good points, I think the value exists in Vizquel struggling a bit to get in the HOF, but you can clearly see that Vizquel had nowhere near the stardom of Ozzie Smith. Close to very few people have. Strategies have become a lot more sophisticated, but hopefully a balance comes along though that closer resembles the yesteryear's style of play than what exists today. Homers and strikeouts are putting me to sleep.
Mad props to the ATL fans cheering Ozzie on in his final at bat.
Greatest short stop that ever played the game...The Wizard was such a suiting nickname for him...dude was magic out there.
Ozzie was the man. Truly amazing ballplayer
Oh how I miss those classic Saturday NBC game of the week broadcasts. Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola were just beautiful to listen to for any real baseball fans.
ozzie smith was so ridiculously good
He was the best. Life long Cardinal fan. Had the privilege of meeting him and getting a picture with him when I was a kid.
Growing up, Ozzie was someone who I truly looked up to.
He was my hero growing up. Good to see him again.
Im fortunate enough that my gpa took me to many games to see my favorite player. Ozzie was phenomenal
Now, top prospect Masyn Winn (SS) is promoted to the major leagues and is wearing number 0 to get as close to the wizard as possible. I'm glad to know that not only was Ozzie smith one of the best ss ever, but his legacy is bigger than we may have realized
Ozzie is the man. Forever. I really hope the padres don't trade em all. Our turn. And ozzie is he best shortstop that played. Tatis can slam all day but ozzie will erase errors
1:22 buddy balked so hard. Gotta come to a stop lol
I met Ozzie at a work function that my company had in St Louis and he was there signing autographs
Holly sh.. how long that ovation was?
Most insane was how fast he bounced to his feet after diving. And he used take ground balls between innings and throw to first with his eyes closed.
The only thing stopping this video from being perfect is the inane, passionless commentary of Joe 'Mitchell' Buck.
I got to hold Ozzie’s bat and It was one of the best days of my life!!
My dads childhood player he was a huge part of the cardinals
The magician in action . love you Ozzie
The GOAT!
Hard to believe he played with Keith Hernandez. Two of the greatest with the glove at their position in the same infield. First year together they won the whole thing. Crazy how that works.
He was a great player
40 yrs old and still playing in the best baseball of the world.
My absolute hero.
Him and andrelton simmons are so fun to watch
how are you gonna cut Buck's great call?
Best defensive SS I've ever seen!
The old Vet at philly will always appreciate this man
With all due respect to Cal Ripken, this video highlight reel is proof positive who MLB's True Ambassador of The Game was....😎🇵🇷🇺🇸🗽🦂😊
オジー・スミス
プロスピ査定
ミート 75(B)
パワー60(C)
走力85(A)
肩力88(A)
守備95(S)
スローイング95(S)
Anyone know who’s pitching at 1:20?
Dave LaPoint
How many guys lay out for a grounder in the ASG these days? Even fewer when they’re in the final year of their career.
If you not from St.Louis... you don’t understand.... the goat @ ss period
Courts one into right is just beautiful
QUE COSAS SIN OREGERAS EL CASCO SIN DUDA UNOS DE LOS MEJORES SHORTS STOP DE TODOS LOS TIEMPOS
He’s the reason why my number has always been 1
SS- Ozzie
1B- Pujols
3B- Arenado
C- Molina
Cardinals have had some damn good infielders these last 40 years
Hardly captures the brilliance of the Wizard. The plays shown are typical This Week In Baseball plays... but not what made him a legend.
すごいすごいすごい！
it always surprises me how fast ozzie was able to go from fully laid-out to releasing the throw.
0:45 - The greatest double play move by a SS ever? I can't think of any better.
Wanted to show someone what a great defensive SS looks like in 2021, naturally looked up the Wizard of Oz
Hes the Ricky Henderson of shortstopping
Mike Greenberg sent me here. Amazing player
Best shortstop of all time w/ease
Omar Vizquel and Cal ripken
Best Cardinals players of all time
1. Ozzie Smith
2. Stan Musial
3. Lou Brock
4. Bob Gibson
5. Yadier Molina
You're a hating ass old head if you think Albert pujols isn't top 5
@@ia6619 I'm younger than 20
Where's pujols?
There were 3 highlights. The video was almost entirely crowd reaction.
This was baseball🇺🇸
Love Ozzie Smith this is from a Cubs fan
I wish I could have seen him play he was so good
U have no idea ..... nickname the wizard
"Well, Mr Burns had done it. The power plant had won it...." My Favourite song from the Simpsons. And what a great episode. I wonder of Ozzie ever got out of that hole?
Awesome
WTH? Why is someone catching one of his foul fly balls a career highlight? WTH? Pretty lame on the highlight side.
That's his final at bat. While not a "highlight", definitely a career moment.
Ozzie is one of those one name athletes.....When someone says "Ozzie" you know who it is!!
That and there was literally no one else named Ozzie who played SS.
Ripken, Jeter samething one name athletes who you knew right away who they're talking about
I still like to think this rookie card will be worth alot some day so a hang on to it only one i kept from when i was a kid
There shouldn't even be a debate who's the best all-time defensive shortstop was
The Best!!!
0:32 that’s just mean 😂
Deserved every second and then some of the applause
Good GOD what kind of fielding was that at 3:21?! Hard to believe that was a "professional"
Over 2,400 hits
580 steals
Only 589 strikeouts
I wouldn't say he wasn't an offensive player.
When compared to other great fielding SS who had pop at bat, his greatness diminishes. But he did great body flips.
He steals so many runs from opponents, I'm surprised he's not in prison!