Cooperstown reflects the difficulty of finding a great third baseman.

The Hall of Fame has enshrined 83 pitchers, an average of 24 among the outfield spots and an average of 23.6 among first basemen, second basemen and shortstops.

From the hot corner? Just 17.

It’s the lowest total among any position in the field, and that number counts Paul Molitor — who played fewer than one third of his games at third base as he played multiple positions and ended his career as a longtime designated hitter.

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Nolan Arenado may well boost that number one day. Through eight seasons he already has three top-five MVP finishes. The only third basemen with more are George Brett (four), Brooks Robinson (five) and Mike Schmidt (five). All were first-ballot Hall of Famers.

Arenado also has won Gold Gloves in each of his eight seasons, owns four Silver Slugger awards as the league’s best offensive third baseman and comes in strong in the lore factor as the result of endless highlight plays in the field and hits like a walk-off grand slam to complete the cycle on Father’s Day.

One group Arenado won’t be joining is the list of all-time great third basemen who played their full career with one team. Brett (Royals), Robinson (Orioles) and Schmidt (Phillies) stayed put. So too did Chipper Jones (Braves). Eddie Matthews (Braves), Wade Boggs (Red Sox) and Ron Santo (Cubs) played an overwhelming majority of their best years with one team.

Now the Rockies, who traded Arenado to St. Louis this offseason, find themselves in the rare position of replacing an in-his-prime Hall of Fame caliber third basemen. And they ought to how hard it can be to find stability at that spot.

The franchise was blessed with Charlie Hayes, Vinny Castilla and Jeff Cirillo at third base over their first nine years of existence. Behind that trio, Colorado finished in the top 10 in Wins Above Replacement (according to Baseball-Reference.com) at the position in seven of those nine years.

In the 11-year gap between Cirillo’s departure and Arenado’s arrival they were in the top 10 once and in the league’s bottom five six times, cycling through veterans like Todd Zeile and Ty Wiggington and seeing prospects like Ian Stewart fail to develop.

The Hall of Fame may well open its doors to Arenado one day. The odds of a comparable replacement arriving for Colorado are far more remote.

I Don’t Know’s on third

Several players could emerge as the primary third basemen this season.

Josh Fuentes

The cousin of Nolan Arenado keeps hitting at every level, including a .306 clip in 30 Rockies games in 2020. He’ll likely open the season at third.

Ryan McMahon

He’s likely at second base for now, but third is where he spent most of his time in the minors as a former top-100 prospect.

Colton Welker

The team’s No. 7 prospect saw regular time in spring training and hit .362. At 23, he might be ready despite limited time above High-A.

Chris Owings

If it gets to that point for more than a handful of spot starts, the season is likely in trouble. Valuable utility player, but not a corner bat.

HISTORY ON THE HOT CORNER

Rockies’ third basemen by year with team’s rank in Wins Above Replacement (by Baseball-Reference.com) among MLB teams at the position.

1993 – Charlie Hayes (10th)

1994 – Charlie Hayes (21st)

1995 – Vinny Castilla (10th)

1996 – Vinny Castilla (ninth)

1997 – Vinny Castilla (10th)

1998 – Vinny Castilla (fifth)

1999 – Vinny Castilla (22nd)

2000 – Jeff Cirillo (eighth)

2001 – Jeff Cirillo (eighth)

2002 – Todd Zeile (25th)

2003 – Chris Stynes (19th)

2004 – Vinny Castilla (11th)

2005 – Garrett Atkins (16th)

2006 – Garrett Atkins (fourth)

2007 – Garrett Atkins (26th)

2008 – Garrett Atkins (24th)

2009 – Ian Stewart (26th)

2010 – Ian Stewart (13th)

2011 – Ty Wiggington (30th)

2012 – Jordan Pacheco (29th)

2013 – Nolan Arenado (18th)

2014 – Nolan Arenado (ninth)

2015 – Nolan Arenado (third)

2016 – Nolan Arenado (third)

2017 – Nolan Arenado (first)

2018 – Nolan Arenado (fifth)

2019 – Nolan Arenado (third)

2020 – Nolan Arenado (sixth)