Shortest MLB Players

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One of the great things about major league baseball is that size doesn’t necessarily have as much importance on whether you can become successful like some of the other sports. 

Some of the best baseball players of all time have been under 6 feet, so we put together a list of some of the current and former shortest major league baseball players that had very successful careers throughout MLB history.

Shortest Active MLB Players

Here is a breakdown of some of the shortest MLB players still playing today:

1. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

First up, Jose Altuve is a 5’6″ second baseman from Venezuela who plays for the Houston Astros.

Despite being one of the shortest MLB players, Altuve fought through tryouts and has played with the Houston Astros since 2011 and has had a remarkable career.

In his career, he’s batted around .307 and scored nearly 200 home runs. That puts him on par with some of the best in the league! Altuve is one of my personal favorite players to watch in major league baseball.

He has a ton of power in such a small frame and has such a big impact on the game at 2nd base as well.

Altuve has a career .307 batting average with over 200 home runs. 

He also has some incredible career awards such as:

  • 8x Major League Baseball All-Star
  • 2x World Series Champion
  • American Lague MVP
  • Gold Glove Award
  • 3x Batting Champion
  • 6x Silver Slugger Award

 2.Tony Kemp, Oakland Athletics

Tony Kemp has played outfield and second base for the Astros, the Chicago Cubs, and the Oakland Athletics since the Astros drafted him in 2013. 

At 5’6″, Kemp is equal to Jose Altuve in height and both are the shortest active MLB player.

His performance, however, is a bit less stellar than Altuve’s, batting .241 with 33 home runs across his eight year career as a second baseman.

3.Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs

Marcus Stroman is a 5’7″ pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. In 2012, he got scooped up by the Toronto Blue Jays as a first round draft pick out of Duke University. 

Since then, Stroman has played for the New York Mets and his current team, the Cubs.

He’s amassed a fairly impressive record across his 9 year career despite being one of the shortest pitchers, including nearly 1,000 strikeouts, a Golden Glove award, and the World Baseball Classic MVP award.

Stroman has been very consistent throughout his career and sports a 3.63 career era through 9 Major League Baseball Seasons.

He has been knocking on the door of winning a Cy Young award and he is a name keep an eye on in the national league to win one in the next few years.

4.Kolton Wong, Seattle Mariners

Kolton Wong is a 5’7″ Hawaiian second baseman who’s played for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and currently, the Seattle Mariners and made his MLB debut in 2013.

His father was a baseball coach who trained him to be an athlete throughout his childhood. Based on his .259 batting average and nearly 120 stolen bases across his ten-year career, it’s safe to say Wong’s father did a pretty solid job and has had a very good professional baseball career winning two Gold Glove Awards.

5.Eguy Rosario, San Diego Padres

At 5’7″ and 150 pounds, Dominican Republic infielder Eguy Rosario might be the San Diego Padres’ smallest professional baseball player. Although he’s spent time in the Minor Leagues with strong stats behind him, he came out of his first seven Major League games in 2022 with a .2 batting average and no runs scored. 

Rosario made his MLB debut in 2022 and after signing with the Padres as an International Free Agent in 2015. 

6. Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves

Ozzie Albies is a 5’8 second baseman from Curaçao and is one of the most popular short Major League Baseball players currently. 

He joined the Major Leagues with the Atlanta Braves in 2017, and he’s made a solid start to his career with a .270 batting average and over 100 home runs.

Albies has also won the Silver Slugger Award twice and helped his team win several of the Major League Baseball special games. Albies has had a remarkable start to his young career.

Albies signed in 2013 and has gone on to become a 3 time MLB All-Star, a World Series Champion for the National League Atlanta Braves. 

Shortest Players Throughout MLB History

1.Eddie Gaedel, St. Louis Browns

Eddie Gaedel only ever appeared in one game, but he’s notoriously the shortest player in MLB history.

He was subbed in as the lead batter in the 1951 St. Louis Browns (now the St. Louis Cardinals) vs. Detroit Tigers game, given first base on balls, then subbed out for a pinch runner. 

This was all a part of a publicity stunt for Falstaff Brewery put on by Browns owner Bill Veeck, and Gaedel was actually a hired midget performer. 

The stunt caused quite a bit of upset among MLB executives. It even led them to change the rules for players with unapproved contracts, rendering them unable to appear in games.

2. “Stubby” Magner, New York Highlanders

Edmund “Stubby” Magner started out as a hockey player for Cornell University. He eventually pivoted to baseball and got drafted by the New York Highlanders (now the Yankees) in 1911. At 5’3″, he’s tied with three others for the shortest to actually play in the MLB. 

Magner’s baseball career was brief and generally unimpressive, with a .212 batting average in 13 games. After the 1911 season, Magner retired to coach college hockey.

3. Pompeyo “Yo-Yo” Davalillo, Washington Senators

Pompeyo Davalillo was a Venezuelan shortstop for the Washington Senators (now the Minnesota Twins) and a Venezuelan team. 

He was the first Zulian player, and had a 19-game entire career yielding a .291 batting average and 10 scores. Standing 5’3″, he’s tied for the shortest MLB player in history.

4. Bob Emmerich, Boston Braves

Bob Emmerich was a 5’3″ center fielder for the Boston Braves (now Atlanta Braves). His career was as short as he was, only lasting a month in 1923. 

In that time, he managed a .083 batting average with no scores across 13 games. He was 32 in 1923, so perhaps age is to blame for the lackluster performance.

5. Mike McCormack

 Mike McCormack was a Scottish third baseman for the Brooklyn Superbas (now Brooklyn Dodgers). Like many of these short players of the early 20th century, McCormack only played for one season. 

In that 1904 season, he tallied 105 games with a batting average of .184, scoring a total of 28 runs.

6. “Wee Willie” Keeler

Last but not least, Willie Keeler was a right fielder and lead batter for much of his career. He played for 18 years, mainly for New York Giants and Brooklyn Superbas. 

Despite being 5’4″, Keeler was supremely talented, with a batting average of .341. Keeler was the National League batting champion twice and was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

Who is the shortest MLB player active right now?

Jose Altuve and Tony Kemp are two of the shortest active MLB players that are actively playing professional baseball and they both stand 5’6.

Is there a height requirement for MLB?

No there is not a height requirement for MLB players as all that matters is performance since hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. Some of the shortest MLB players listed above have had incredible careers.

Final Word

Baseball is one of my favorite sports because players of all shapes and sizes can have a successful career. At the pace Altuve and Albies are going, I would keep an eye out for them as potential contenders for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

What’s awesome about this list is it takes a look at some of the shortest active MLB players as well as some short players who played over 100 years ago.

This gives hope to all the baseball players out there aspiring to make major league baseball that anything is possible!

Next time you are at a baseball game, take note of all of the different types of sizes of professional baseball players at each position.

Middle infield positions like Shortstop and 2nd base typically have shorter, shifter players, while the corner infield and outfield positions have larger athletes.

At the end of the day, if you can consistently hit and get on base it doesn’t matter what size you are. A coach will find a spot for you in the lineup as long as you are not a liability in the field.