February 21, 2008 -- TAMPA - Derek Jeter arrived at his 16th Yankees spring training yesterday labeled the worst shortstop in the majors by some statistical braniacs over at Penn.
"Maybe it was a computer glitch," the three-time Gold Glove winner said of the report. But Jeter just didn't laugh this one off. He defended himself, saying, "Every [shortstop] doesn't stay in the same spot, everyone doesn't have the same pitching. Everyone doesn't have the same hitters running, it's impossible to do that."
Jeter, 33, pointed out you can get the exact same ground ball off the exact same pitcher and there could be an average runner or there could be Ichiro running. "How can you compute that?" he asked.
That's true Derek, the computers don't know if Ichiro is running down the line. But correct me if I wrong, doesn't Ichiro play against all the teams?
Here's Gene "Stick" Michael's take:
"Something like that is a disgrace," the scout said. "It made me ill when I read that article. First of all, what pitching staff was out there? Each team has a different staff. Derek doesn't really have a sinkerball pitching staff whereas other shortstops, you sit behind certain pitchers, you're going to get a lot of ground balls."
"You simply can't do that by those charts, that's a bunch of baloney," Michael added. "It's disgraceful. You have to use a scout's eye to determine range."
What about Jeter's range now in his 13th major league season?
"It's not as good as it was, but it's not bad," Michael said. "You might put some people ahead of him range-wise, but that doesn't mean they are better shortstops. Look how sure-handed he is, look how clutch he is. That makes up for a lot."
Gene must be sick quite often because there are a ton of articles that are critical of Jeter's defense.
I'm sure "Stick" knows that Jeter has ALWAYS ranked in the middle of the pack or below in terms of range. He's never covered a lot of ground, or had what one would call "good" range. I can see with this with my own eyes, I'm sure that Michael, and his "scout's eye, " can see this too.
The reasons range is so important is because if you don't get to as many balls as the next short stop, you don't have as many opportunities to make plays, you then don't retire as many batters, and consequently you cost your team runs.
You should also consider that "Stick" was the GM when they drafted Jeter. He's one of Michael's most prized trophies. Of course he's going to try to discredit anyone or anything - a computer in this case - that put Jeter down.
I do agree with some things “Stick” says. Jeter is "sure-handed." But then again, that only matters if you get to the ball.
I will also admit that these intangibles do make him a little better than his stats say he is, which is why I'm not going to say he's the worst defensive short stop in the league. I don’t think he’s that bad. But he's not rated at, or near the bottom of almost every defensive study, stat, and metric available by accident.
Hopefully coming into camp lighter than he normally does will help Jeter with his lateral movement. This could help improve his range. Then he can prove all of his critics wrong, including me.
2 Comments:
I would like to see what other MLB players, not computers, have to say about Jeter's defense as a short stop. I would simply ask them, 'is Jeter above or below avg defesively in yout opinion.' I'd like to see those answers polled from people who actually play the game next to him or play the actual position. I think they are better judges than computers or the select group of baseball fans who seem to be thirsty to critizise Jeter.
MLB players may say that, but one thing I do know is that they've already voted him the most overrated player in the game.
And if it was only this one computerized study, I'd agree that it should be taken lightly. But it isn't just this one study, this isn't some new idea about Jeter. His range has always been suspect. Countless baseball experts who aren't affiliated with the Yankees have been saying the same thing for years.
Do you think he ranks dead last, or close to it, every year in every stat and metric possible by accident?
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