It ended differently for my boyhood heroes. Thurman Munson died while practicing takeoffs and landings in his private plane in Canton, Ohio. Dave Winfield somehow got on the wrong side of George Steinbrenner and was traded away. And Don Mattingly suffered a back injury that took away his power. But Derek Jeter, a greater player than any of the others, is simply getting old. He’s not suffering from bad knees like Mickey Mantle. He hasn’t come down with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis like Lou Gehrig.
We probably have to look to Joe DiMaggio to find a parallel of a Yankee great playing until their skills simply began to disappear. And DiMaggio’s last season was Mantle’s first. There are no replacements for Jeter on the Yankee roster. In fact, he has two and a half years left on his new contract. The problem is, he is hitting for an unimpressive average, he isn’t getting on base, and he has almost no power. His range in the field is also diminished.
But, you know what? He’s still the best and smartest and most instinctual baseball player in the league. He’s still the best teammate in the league. He’s still a leader. And, so, as a Yankee fan, I don’t mind too much seeing him struggle. Watching him play is more important than winning. Every kid who plays baseball should have the pleasure of watching Jeter play and seeing how he conducts himself and how he approaches everything about being an athlete.
Jeter never had the most raw talent, but he was always the hardest man to beat. Jeter, Mattingly, and Munson. You can’t have better role models than that.
I demand that we re-direct this thread to discussion of my beloved Minnesota Twins.
They got off to a horrible start. I guess they’re playing better now, but can they recover?
Yes. Morneau is out right now. Mauer is only now playing again. As long as they don’t trade Cudyer.
Red Sox fan here.
You’re never going to catch me saying a bad word about Derek Jeter.
He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played.
And I’m not even much of a baseball fan.
(We could do worse…)
AG
Overall, Jeter’s career has been a model of consistency and integrity. In his prime, It, Jeter would utilize his classic inside-out swing in the regular season, but come October you would see Jeter turn on those same pitches for power instead as if he flipped some mysterious switch.
The Yankees young shortstop, Edwin Nunez, is Jeter’s opposite. Nunez has an upside. Terrific range afield with a strong arm. Nunez has a quick bat with extra base power. He’s capable of driving in a runner from first base and isn’t a double play threat.
However, Nunez has no plate discipline at this stage of his career and can be erratic with routine plays in the field.
Jeter’s .320 on base percentage is not good enough for a lead off hitter but it’s better than Nunez’s. Jeter doesn’t have the kid’s range but when healthy he can make the routine plays without incident. When just a single is needed in a clutch situation, Jeter can provide the more professional at bat. There is also the intangible value of Jeter’s presence.
When Jeter is healthy again, he should play more than Nunez, but Brett Gardner should bat lead off. Presently, that gives the Yankees the best chance to win. Over the final couple seasons of his contract, assuming Jeter’s health holds up, Nunez will have to assume more playing time. But that doesn’t diminish the career Jeter has had or the consummate professional he’s been.
Here, here!
Jeter is a once in a generation beauty. Been a pleasure to watch him throughout his career. So many highlight plays. That backhanded toss to home plate as he was careening at full speed off the first base side of the field? Magnificent! Only he could pull that off.
Didn’t Jeter get shot? I thought he got shot.
It’s true.
Nice you mention Winfield. I loved the man as a kid growing up in San Diego and going to Padres games.
You already know my feelings on the Yankees, but I’ve always liked Derek Jeter. I’ve always felt that he and Ken Griffey Jr. were the two players who came through the steroids era where you had no doubt that they were clean. Incidentally, they both probably could have gained the most (statistically, anyway) from using steroids – imagine if Ken Griffey Jr. had the preventative and recuperative powers that Barry Bonds enjoyed.
As an interesting side note, Jeter was in high school in Kalamazoo at the same time that a good friend of mine was in Battle Creek, so they played against each other in basketball all the time. My friend swears that Jeter was one of the most dominant high school basketball players he’s ever seen, which speaks to his raw athletic ability and incredible coordination.
Heck, imagine Griffey if he’s even done the weight training and off-season regimens other players did. When he was young he was so gifted he didn’t bother with those things, and that lack of care of his body contributed to the injuries later in his career. Without those, he, not Bonds, would hold the home run record – he was on pace at one point to hit 900 – and there would be no asterisks. Never a whiff of steroids or other scandal.
Watching Griffey in his prime was a thing of beauty. I imagine that Yankees fans felt the same about Jeter. And to think both guys have had to play with A-Rod, another guy with all the talent in the world but in his case no clue what to do with it. Talk about contrasts in integrity…
Another beautiful player and role model was Kirby Puckett. I can’t say enough good things about that man.
Kirby was a great player no doubt, but I dunno about role model. But didn’t he have some serious personal issues related marital indiscretions, abuse, etc?
If he did, I’ve forgotten about them.
Maybe his stellar behavior didn’t extend beyond the diamond.
Unbelievably, incredibly over rated. A complete NY, ESPN, Fox creation.
Anywhere else he would have been gone five years ago. Never had range. Year after year was rated at the bottom in range.
http://www.torontobaseballguys.com/jeter.html
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I’ll tell you what. Until his skills nose-dived last year, I would have taken Jeter first overall for any 7-game series, because he proved to me over and over again that he has that magic intangible that you can’t capture with statistics. When the team needs a hit, Jeter is the man you want at the plate. Not A-Rod. Not Giambi. Not any of the cheaters. So, call him over-rated if you want, but the people who know him best (Yankee and Red Sox fans) will never say that. And no player in my lifetime has ever made so many plays in the field and on the basepaths that never even occurred to you could be possible. He is a brilliant baseball player.
Over-rated, sure, but that doesn’t mean he was an ESPN creation.
Although I despise the Yankees, I always have respected Jeter but there is quite a debate on how good he ever really was compared to the coverage he received. I thought he should have moved positions so ARod could play short and he is definitely hurting the Yankees more than he is helping them now at SS.
He was the Captain and ran New York City for a decade plus.
I do not think this statement is accurate or provable.
He’s still the best and smartest and most instinctual baseball player in the league.
http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=826&position=SS
DiMaggio quit, he said, not so much because his skills were fading as because he knew he could make more money if he didn’t waste so much time playing baseball. Baseball didn’t pay very much in those days, even for Dimaggio. As it was he was PAID to eat out almost every night by restaurants could have him “seen” in their joint.
Jeter has been the consummate Yankee. Claims of overrated fail to take into account his post season performance, his leadership and how he makes others around him better, and especially how almost perfectly he’s done that in the NY (and especially NY Yankees) spotlight for so many years.
Some have had better years. Few have had better careers or done it so well with the the kind of pressure he deals with. It doesn’t even seem like pressure for him. Never too up or down in the best or worst of times. Always seems to know what has to be done or said. NEVER a distraction to the team and knows exactly how to defuse a distraction.
THAT is the mark of a great professional athlete. And his career will end with similar grace.
Two words: Nomar who? š