Get ready for something you'd never thought you'd see from a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan. I'm going to tell you why Derek Jeter is a first ballot Hall of Famer, no question about it. It took me awhile to come to this conclusion, because during the Yankees run in the late 90s, Jeter was always the quintessential Yankee, a.k.a. the guy on whom I could direct all my hatred towards. Now I look at him differently, perhaps because he's in the twilight of his career and I can appreciate him more.
I was having a conversation about Jeter a few weeks back with Jason Powles, born and bred Yankee fan and I admitted I thought Jeter was a first ballot Hall of Famer, but thought his numbers were overrated. It was an interesting conversation, because we looked up his numbers that night and I discovered that his numbers are pretty good. Not long after that I read an article in ESPN the Magazine by Peter Keating talking about Jeter being "overrated by fans, but underrated by statistical analysts." For instance, he has a .306 average and an .845 OPS with runners in scoring position and two out throughout his career. He also has averages of .324/.785 with the bases loaded and .309/.850 in the postseason. Another interesting stat Keating mentions is Jeter's 1,719 runs scored in about 15 seasons, which is higher now, so it's even more impressive. And in that time he's also reached base more than any other player. He now has over 3,000 hits (after going 5-5 Saturday vs. the Rays) and will likely reach base 4,500 times before the end of his career (according to Keating). That is impressive.
Most of my fellow Sox brethren have said that Jeter's numbers are inflated, especially his runs scored, because he played with guys who could knock him in. But he still had to get on base and quite frankly the guys on his team weren't the big name big hitting guys he has now. There were no A-Rods, Teixeiras or even Grandersons or Canos. It was the Tino Martinezes, the Bernie Williamses, the Paul O'Neills and even the Scott Brosiuses. Some of them were great players, but none of them Hall of Famers, except maybe Jorge Posada. In fact, the Core Four, Jeter, Posada, Mariano Rivera and maybe even Andy Pettite (though he might be a stretch) should all be in Cooperstown someday, but they're probably the only members of the '96-'00 championship teams that will be there, as opposed to the '09 team, which could have eight in the HOF by the time they're done.
The reason Jeter is overrated by fans is that he hasn't deserved to make as many All-Star teams as he's made and he certainly shoudn't be a five time gold glover. Maybe earlier in his career you could convince me that he was a better fielding shortstop, but that didn't happen, because his first came in 2004. He's also one of those poster boys for the 21st century male athlete, meaning he's one of the reasons that non-baseball fans watch. (i.e. women are interested because he's a good looking guy. BARF!) And that's the reason he gets endorsement deals, because companies know he'll help them sell their products. So he's a great ambassador for the sport, like Tiger Woods used to be in golf and the way Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are for tennis, Sidney Crosby is for hockey and even Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are in basketball. In fact, Jeter was the first, the one that set the standard for all the rest of these guys. I personally don't really like any of them, because I think they come off as too wooden, too rehearsed, too perfect. Give me Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, Big Papi and Pedro Martinez, Zdeno Charra and Tim Thomas, even old school Bill Parcells, the guys that aren't afraid to unload every now and then to speak their mind. Hmm, can I think of any non-Boston examples? I suppose Terrell Owens would be the best one, even though I can't stand him either.
Over the past few months the subject of Jeter has come up in Cooperstown and all the guys I've heard talk about him say he'll be in when the time comes. I specifically asked Goose Gossage about Jeter and he talked about him as if he was already a part of the group. (Granted he's a fellow Yankee, but still I think he was being sincere about it.) Even without the 3,000 hits I think #2 would have been a shoo-in. Still, given the things Jeter's done already and all the thrills he's delivered to the Evil Empire, Saturday's performance may have been the best yet.
His first inning single to give him 2,999 was average, ordinary, nothing special. Number 3,000 was the opposite, a home run, just the third of the year for the light hitting Captain. The only other player in MLB history to get 3,000 on a long ball was Wade Boggs, when he was with the Rays. Can you believe that? Jeter and Boggs seem the least likely of the 28 who have reached 3,000 to do it with a home run. (I actually saw Boggsy get #2,000 live in person back in his Red Sox days at Fenway. It was one of the lamest hits I've ever seen, with Boggs sliding into first. Oy.) But more importantly, #3,000 tied the score with the Rays at one. Later, Jeter got a double to left to surpass the great Roberto Clemente for 27th all time on the hit list. A single by Curtis Granderson allowed Jeter to score, another run created by the Captain. He was a perfect 4-4 when his last at bat of the game came in the 8th, with the score tied at four. Eduardo Nunez was on third, playing at third in place of an injured A-Rod. There's a lot of talk that Nunez will be the eventual replacement at short for Jeter. It was poetic as #2 came through again, with an RBI single up the middle to plate Nunez and give the Yankees a 5-4 lead, which Mo Rivera protected with a 1-2-3 9th.
Jeter had come through again, like he's done so much during his career, helping the Yankees keep pace with Boston, just a game back in the AL East. It was a fitting way for the Captain to make history and just another reason why the baseball world will someday converge on the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown to pay homage to the man and the legacy he will have left on the national pastime. I hate to admit it, but it's true.
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