Shafer was an outstanding fielder.Orator Shaffer Biography - Baseballbiography.com Fellow major league right fielder Paul Radford, when writing about how to play the position, said: "I always considered 'Orator' Shaffer a splendid right fielder, because of his skill in throwing out men at the initial bag. I know he threw me out thus in two successive games at Buffalo." According to The Sporting Life, Shafer "was for years considered the best man in his position." In 2001, statistician Bill James ranked Shafer as the 99th greatest right fielder of all-time.
