Oldschoolball

Understood!

They absolutely were...changed his entire career

To me this is a disrespectful question to pose. As has been stated, not only are we talking about the first Latino MVP in the history of the game, which in and of itself tells you were not dealing with a typical player, much less a "one-hit wonder", but if you look at the trajectory of his career even before 65 all the way up to the severe back injury he suffered in 1966, he was pace to set offensive records at the shortstop position in terms homers and extra-base hits. His range at shortstop was incredible (granted, that lead to many throwing errors), and he was a base-stealing threat. Not sure what else you can do as a player to demonstrate your worth. Had he played in today's game, with the guaranteed money that exists in the game, he could have rested up that back to allow it to heal properly, but back then everything was year-to-year contracts, no guaranteed money, and guys had to work in the offseason to support their families (he had 6 daughters). Others have already mentioned the WAR statistics, gold gloves and All-Star appearances...with all due respect, this is a disrespectful question to pose to me...those who know the game know he was far from a one-hit wonder...