In Defense of Jeter…
Posted Under: Archive - Howard
Decline? We'll see about that in '09.
I feel very reminiscent of Popeye right now when I say, “That’s all I can stands! I can’t stands no more!”
In a senseless diatribe that can only be construed as sour grapes for the Giants not signing C.C. Sabathia, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins writes that the Yankess are “…an old and terribly vulnerable team, starting with Derek Jeter, who turns 35 this summer and continues a gradual decline so evident, that stat guys are calling him the worst defensive shortstop in the American League.”
Really Bruce? How evident? Was his decline evident to you after he hit .344 with 14 HR, 97 RBI and swiped a career high 34 bases back in ‘06 when the previous year he only hit .309 with 19 HR, 70 RBI and 14 SB? I mean, after all, those ‘05 numbers were clearly worse than the ones from 2004. Is that the decline all of you experts and know-it-alls are talking about? Sure, his 13th and 14th major league seasons’ stats are showing a decline from the monster year he had in ‘06, but if you look closely, save for the runs scored (not a stat he is in full control of), those numbers are fairly congruent to those from 2000 and even 1997.
The 2009 Fantasy Baseball Yearbook and Guide which boasts “the #1 rated fantasy mag” turns around and says, “A.J. Burnett is a groundball pitcher who finds himself on a team with baseball’s worst defensive shortstop.” Later on they actually refer to him as the “slap hitting defensively challenged Jeter.”
Defensively challenged? Last season, in 150 games played, Jeter ranked 5th among starting major league shortstops with a .979 fielding percentage, 5th with 220 put outs, and committed only 12 errors. There were 13 other major league shortstops who committed 14 errors or more, some of whom played in fewer games. I think someone needs a little YouTube reminder…
Defensively challenged? You gotta be kidding me!
Now for those of you who have been reading RotoBuzz, you know I’m a Yankees fan. I won’t ever hide that. I’m a born and bred New Yorker and if I had the chutzpah to tatoo my body with pinstripes, I would. But you also know that when it comes to this site and when it comes to fantasy baseball, I can call a spade a spade and look at my hometown favorites objectively. I have to. Fantasy baseball is a game to be won and in most cases, it’s a business. It’s not personal. Aside from that, I’ve also lambasted the Yankees for all sorts of things; whether it’s the inane contracts given to pitchers like Sabathia, Burnett, Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano or whether it’s just the sheer stupidity the Steinbrenner family has exhibited over the past few decades. I’m a fan of the Yankees at heart, but also one of their biggest critics. But in this case, I have to come to the defense of our captain. I’ve had enough of the anti-Yankee rhetoric and moronic criticisms that are just teeming with jealousy.
Jeter is a gamer. He is, and has been for the last 13 years, one of the top shortstops in the game. He has 4 World Seried rings, a Rookie of the Year Award, a Silver Slugger Award, an All Star MVP, a World Series MVP, and, up until last season, has never missed the playoffs. He has been an integral part of each and every Yankee achievement since 1996, his rookie year.
Now it would be foolish of me to think that Jeter’s numbers will never decline. That would just be silly. People age, the game changes, take your pick. But can you naysayers tell me with complete certainty that he won’t rebound this year and that his ‘09 totals will be worse than ’08’s? I don’t think so. Numbers fluctuate, especially in baseball. So before you go labeling him the ”worst defensive shortstop in baseball” and before you go claiming that his decline is “so evident”, take a step back from your jealous, anti-Yankee bias and try to watch the player through some objective eyes.
And since this is a fantasy baseball web site, let me tell you that you can do a whole lot worse on the fantasy front with other shortstops. Let’s start with Cesar Izturis who resides on the favorite team (the Orioles) of Fantasy Baseball Yearbook and Guide’s editor-in-chief, Scott Gramling. Or how about Jenkins’ Bay Area boys Bobby Crosby and Edgar Renteria?
Give me a break!
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Reader Comments
His homers have consistently declined from ‘04: 23, 19, 14, 12, 11 and everything else has declined the past two years as well. So really the past two years must be what he’s talking about.
Now to his defense… Jeter’s defense IS overrated in a sense… Everybody sees his spectacular defensive plays (because he’s on the Yankees) and we remember those plays. What everybody doesn’t see everyday is his lack of range. It’s common knowledge these days and it shows up in the stats. Jeter handles much fewer balls in play than other shortstops in baseball.
HR were never his forte. He was always listed as one of the top three with A-Rod and Nomar and eventually Tejada, and his HR output was never in question. Maybe to the people who only focus on power numbers, but certainly not to everyone who also factors in defensive play and certain intangibles that he brings to the table.
As for how many of his spectacular plays we see, I’m not a programmer for ESPN. And with how biased that network is towards a team like the Red Sox, his regular appearances on the highlight reels must mean something. No one throws it to first, off balance and deep in the hole better than Jeter. Maybe people have done it before, but not with his regularity or virtuosity in today’s game.
Of course his range is dwindling with age…happens to the best of them. But to label him the worst defensive shortstop in baseball is just ridiculous. And if he handles fewer balls than other shortstops, how does he rank so high in the majors in put-outs? The opportunities he gets to handle the ball doesn’t depend so much on him but more on the hitter and what type of pitcher is on the mound, no?
And just to be certain, Jon…you’re a Mets fan, right?
Certainly the inferiority complex your horde has developed over the years has an adverse affect on your objectivity. Let’s check out Reyes’ range after another 7 years and 4200 AB.
There you go, redirecting to mets vs. yanks….
put-outs is not the same as balls fielded, put-outs include double-plays, caught stealing, throws cut off, etc..
as far as shortstops go in baseball, derek jeter consistently fields the least number of batted ground balls.
you can argue all you want about pitchers, but in the long run (over a season, over two, three, or even four) pitchers or ballparks don’t really play much of a factor.
It’s not dwindling because of age either, it’s always been this way with Jeter.
“as far as shortstops go in baseball, derek jeter consistently fields the least number of batted ground balls.”
Is that really true? I’m not necessarily denying the validity of that statement but is there a website or stat that proves that? Seems odd because some SS play about 120-130 games, 20-30 less than Jeter typically does, and they still field more ground balls? To say the least is putting an absolute value on his defense.
I cannot argue for Jeter as a top defensive SS but as this article states I have an issue saying he is the absolute worst.
I believe the exact metric is balls hit into play while fielder is at his position, so essentially it doesn’t matter how many games the SS played.
I did make an error above. I wrote “batted ground balls” when it should have been “batted balls”. (they could be liners or fly balls as well)
Actually from what I saw earlier this year, Jeter actually had a BETTER defensive year last year than he has in a long time. Obviously since the increased acceptance of more detailed statistics came about (following the OPS craze) there have been a lot of metrics out there to measure defense. That is where the huge knocks on Jeter’s range started carrying weight in the community. One of those is as follows:
UZR (ultimate zone rating): The number of runs above or below average a fielder is in both range runs, outfield arm runs, double play runs and error runs combined.
In 2007 Jeter was-18.4. The worst in the AL. In 2008 he was -0.4, his best year since 2002 when he ranked above average. Meanwhile I am not sure you can find a real statistical difference between 12 home runs and 11. For a long time Jeter was the golden boy of whom no criticism was ever deemed warranted. By now, the pendulum has swung back the other way and he takes way more grief than he deserves.
I agree with Wes. Jeter is NOT the worst defensive shortstop in baseball. However, he is definitely not the in the top 5. Team loyalties aside Howard, Reyes’ range and arm are better and will always be better– he is just a better defensive shortstop– what reyes doesn’t have as well as many others are these intangibles you speak of. That is Jeter’s true strength. He is willing to sacrifice and make the plays and no one else will try to. He has heart yo. I mean Furcal is a better defensive shortstop, vizquel is a better defensive shortstop and does he even have a job? who else is there– let’s see– everett and michael young. They are all better defensively than jeter– they just don’t play the overall game at the same level or have the same heart and total game. There are definitely worse than him that’s for sure. But there are also a lot that are better.
Well, as Wes said…the argument here is not whether or not Jeter is the best or in the top 5 at his position…it is that he is definitely not the worst as several of these “experts” have said.
As for some of your “better” options, I have no problem saying that Reyes has better arm strength or range right now. What I said was that I just want to see where he’s at in another 7 years with 7 full seasons (600+AB) under his belt. Furcal, maybe…we’ll see how his back problems afect his range…Everett, not so sure. Young? Well if he is, then Elvis Andrus must be ridiculous with the glove because he’s pushing Young over to third this year. And Vizquel? Maybe in his prime, but if he were still better than Jeter today he’d be a starting shortstop somewhere, wouldn’t he?
Vizquel is a better defensive shortstop with one eye, leg and even at age 63. Period. The bat is one thing, the glove another.
Well now that’s just silly and has no relevance to the argument at hand. If he were actually playing, was 63 and had just one leg, then we’d be able to talk. And if what you said were even remotely true then, again, Vizquel would have a job somewhere, wouldn’t he?