Can we shut up about Derek Jeter please. Please? Ok, fine: he's a first ballot HOF because of his 3K+ hits, but there are 27 other members of the 3000 hit club and grown men don't drool over, say, Robin Yount do they?
And Robin Yount was a better shortstop!
In fact, for most of his career, Derek Jeter wasn't even the best shortstop on his own team! As a hitter he never won the league's Silver Slugger award as the league's best hitting shortstop. As a fielder, he had the range of a 97-year old lady and according to two historical play-by-play-based systems, Baseball Prospectus’s Fielding Runs Above Average and Baseball-Reference’s Total Zone, Jeter cost his team more in the field than any other player in history! If you're going to claim the guy is a legend, shouldn't he at least be the best player at his own position?
So basically the arguments for Jeter's immortality come down to two things: His supposed ability as a clutch hitter, and a bunch of cliches about what a hulking, manly winner he was. Let's debunk them both in turn.
Clutch hitting is a not a repeatable skill. Its just random luck. Also, Jeter had a lower batting average in the post-season, lower OPS and a higher strike-out percentage. He batted under .250 in seven post season series. And his most famous "clutch hit" would have been an out had the umps called interference on the kid. So much for raising his game when it counts.
Was he winner? Well, sure, he won 5 rings, but Yogi has 10. Meanwhile, Scott Brosius had more World Series appearances than Ted Williams. Are you going to argue that Scott Brosius was more valuable than Ted Williams?
So now what we're left with is pure man-crush material. He looked good in a uniform. He carried himself well. Blah blah blah. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it has nothing to do with baseball.
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And Robin Yount was a better shortstop!
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| No one would talk about "The Play" IF GIAMBI HAD SLID! |
So basically the arguments for Jeter's immortality come down to two things: His supposed ability as a clutch hitter, and a bunch of cliches about what a hulking, manly winner he was. Let's debunk them both in turn.
Clutch hitting is a not a repeatable skill. Its just random luck. Also, Jeter had a lower batting average in the post-season, lower OPS and a higher strike-out percentage. He batted under .250 in seven post season series. And his most famous "clutch hit" would have been an out had the umps called interference on the kid. So much for raising his game when it counts.
Was he winner? Well, sure, he won 5 rings, but Yogi has 10. Meanwhile, Scott Brosius had more World Series appearances than Ted Williams. Are you going to argue that Scott Brosius was more valuable than Ted Williams?
So now what we're left with is pure man-crush material. He looked good in a uniform. He carried himself well. Blah blah blah. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it has nothing to do with baseball.
Search for more information about ### at4torah.com
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