More from the Hot Corner

In the continuing saga of A-Rod--this time for his hip injury—si.com’s fine coverage includes this interesting tidbit. “Only three third basemen age 33 or older ever managed more than two seasons with at least 150 games: Brooks Robinson, Pete Rose and Mike Schmidt.”

That’s the list. By age 33, players on baseball’s hot corner start to fade under the rigors of the position. George Brett? Played mostly at 1B after age 33. Wade Boggs, Eddie Mathews, even Pie Traynor – all faced challenges paying this demanding position as they approached their mid-30s. Let’s wish Chipper Jones some luck this season. Now 36, he’s averaged just over 100 games at 3B each of the past five years.

This is yet another strong argument that Baseball Hall of Fame voters need to rethink their standards for third basemen. Not counting Negro Leaguers, the Hall has just 10 third basemen, one of whom (Freddie Lindstrom) played only 800 games at the position. Compare this with the Hall’s 21 shortstops and 18 first basemen. This is not just a roundabout way to argue for Ron Santo’s induction. (Heck, I’m tempted to tout the record of Matt Williams--almost). Hall voters want a third baseman to have the bat of a slugging 1B/OF/DH. If not, they’d better have 3,000 hits or one of the best gloves of all time. It’s a standard applied at no other position in the game.