What is a Shortstop?
- Thread starter sjm
- Start date
A player in their city/town that plays the '7 ball' in 9 ball or weaker than the Best player there.
I could be backup shortstop.
APA 7's are not shortstops. Danny Medina was the best example I can think of from when I played a lot. He could kill any 7 but very few pro's.
I played him many times and rarely won. I watched him get the same scalding from the top players of the day however.
That’s too high. Calling a 740 fargo a shortstop is a bridge too far.
Mike Davis, Sergio Rivas, Lucas F Verner, Rob Saez, Jeremy Jones are not shortstops.
Shortstop is more like a 680-719.
I’ve seen 680-690 players do some amazing things. I think that’s where the shortstop bar is set.
I think Danny Medina was more than a shortstop. Maybe not top-tier but more than a shortstop. What years are you talking about?
I was just mentioning this in another thread… life decisions can get in the way constancy. Sometimes life‘s struggles that are beyond a person’s control get in the way too like bad relationships, health Issue, even having kids. Danny had his demons and at the end of the day your struggles can define you if you can’t overcome them... woulda, coulda, shoulda.
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Hey garzar
Jay - you probably were in Denver after Danny’s best years. In his prime it took a really good pro to beat him. This was 80s and 90s. By 2000 or so his game had declined a bit so shortstop was probably an apt description.
At that time I think some short stops around Denver (90s)were more like Melvin Sharpe, Mike Helmer, Bill Skinner. Dave Gomez, etc…
A great shortstop from Denver was Kyle Knobbe. He had a good backer who like to put him up against anybody. Sadly he passed way before his time and I never really knew him.
There also seems to be a little more to it than just skill level to me. It’s also about being good action and one of the better players around.
One thing we agree on is that your average apa 7 is not a shortstop. But all shortstops, if they play apa, are 7s for sure.
Shotstop to me says just that. Short stop. Won't take a week to bust'm; not gonna get stuck in any meaningful way, etc...
Danny Medina was an extremely solid shortstop in his prime. He chose the road and gambling or I think he would have ranked top ten in the US pro's. He was a lot closer to top pro than shortstop speed at his peak. Very few shortstops could match that speed or the road would have been a very bleak place.
Danny and I played once long ago. Aside from it being the fiercest competition I have ever been in we were having fun. We started as strangers, six hours later we parted as friends.
I don't know the full story but part of what slowed Danny down was the usual thing that gets pool players, bad habits. Had Danny stayed clean I think he would be ranked much higher. As it is he played long past his best days and the later day Danny is the one many remember.
RIP Danny, Once a road warrior to be respected by everyone!
Hu
Danny and I played once long ago. Aside from it being the fiercest competition I have ever been in we were having fun. We started as strangers, six hours later we parted as friends.
I don't know the full story but part of what slowed Danny down was the usual thing that gets pool players, bad habits. Had Danny stayed clean I think he would be ranked much higher. As it is he played long past his best days and the later day Danny is the one many remember.
RIP Danny, Once a road warrior to be respected by everyone!
Hu
I watched him in LV in the 70s. He was tearing it up on the toy tables. Opened with 4 every session. Then he got down with somebody they said was Billy Graves. The name sounds vaguely familiar but I don't remember the guy. Anyway IIRC, same thing, he opens on all cylinders and then thud. Starts breaking empty. I think the Graves guy ended up winning.
Pro vs. Short Stop. I think the dividing line is not how much their talent impresses me as a person. They all impress me. But can you say Mike Davis, LFV, Rob Saez, and Jeremy Jones are supporting their lifestyles right now primarily off their tournament results and sponsorships? Are they making a living based on their level of play in open events? Or are they in the fringe? Are they the kinds of players that need a spot against the actual pros if they need a game? Are they they kinds players making their money on local events and giving spots to amateurs. Or maybe they actually have a day job doing something that doesn’t involve them swinging a cue? That’s a short stop.
Pro vs Shortstop? What’s your definition of a “pro”? I put this in quotes for a reason. Not to highjack the thread but this could be a whole new thread. There are plenty of ”professional“ players that are just what this thread is about, a shortstop. And there have been many GREAT players that their emphasis was “gambling” and for the most part stayed away from tournament play that I would definitely consider “Professional.” Making a living as a professional pool player has historically been very difficult and almost always players have to supplement their income somehow.
Shortstops have always been very hard to define because it includes more than skills on a table. Shortstops can be anywhere from a top B player to open speed. As a shortstop I controlled the table for hours sometimes, entire sessions. Nobody wins sitting in a chair. They got up sometimes but it was always to a tease. Before the age of jump cues it would have taken a near miracle kick to get started.
Hu
The good old days
The good old days
Never have persuaded myself to learn to use a jump cue. The top pro's have gotten good enough to make it a must but I am a recreational player these days and the people in local halls don't have near the expertise I see on video. I think that the people with jump cues around here still jump poorly enough that it is an overall net gain for me, the nonuser.
It did seem like there was more joy to life back then. Not just for me, for everybody.
Hu
Arts, there was an 'Art to Kicking,' back in the day, which is one of the major elements in Efren's game that made Him the Champion He was/is.
His knowledge of some, 'Carom' games also.
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Best example of a shortstop I've seen was the late Danny Green. A ton of talent, and capable of stringing racks, but seldom good enough to beat any of the serious road players who came through the D. C. / Baltimore area. There's a chapter ("The Dew Factor") in David McCumber's Playing Off The Rail that describes a long gambling session Danny had with Tony Annigoni at Jack and Jill's in Baltimore, along with Annigoni's frustration in waiting for him to show up for a second session the next night, a session that never took place.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
Yeah, when my opponent pulls out the jump cue I feel confident I'm getting back to the table.