Is Jeter's Range Improving?

From Jon Paul Morosi:

Last year, according to the Fielding Bible statistics at Bill James Online, Jeter allowed eight more runs than the average shortstop. This season, he's saved two.

Yes, he's gone from minus-8 to plus-2.

Defensive statistics don't necessarily provide a full picture of a player's fielding ability. In Jeter's case, though, virtually all the numbers point to noticeable improvement between 2008 and 2009.

He committed only two errors in his first 59 games at shortstop this year for a .992 fielding percentage. That is the best mark in a season during Jeter's big-league career, which began in 1995. (Last year, he had a .979 fielding percentage.)

The statistics at FanGraphs.com tell the same story. Jeter has positive zone and range ratings this year, suggesting that he's been better than the big-league average. The same numbers were negative for him in 2008.

Jeter turns 35 later this month and left Tuesday's game in the eighth inning with a stiff left ankle. While scouts may be hesitant to say that Jeter's range has actually improved, they seem comfortable with the notion that it hasn't declined.

And there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that improved positioning has helped Jeter reach more balls. He made a superb play on Alex Cora's ground ball up the middle in the second inning of Saturday's game against the Mets. Yankees first base coach Mick Kelleher, a former infielder, said Jeter has adapted in the same way that Cal Ripken Jr. did in the latter stages of his career.

"Just like Ripken, you adjust in other ways," Kelleher said. "His 'ready' position is better. His angles to the balls are great. He continues to work at it.

"You've got realize he's 35-years-old. You aren't going to be the same guy you were 14 years ago. Nobody should expect that. But he's a lot smarter than he was 14 years ago. ... He's a worker. He's very, very smart. He has instincts. And that comes from playing."

I have never defended Jeter's defense, especially when it came to range. He was always good when he got to the ball, he just didn't get to the ball that often. But last year he started to turn things around. While he still wasn't a great defensive shortstop, he was much better than he had been a year earlier, and now this year he's gotten even better. As for the Fangraphs stats, in 2007 he had the second worst UZR/150 (ultimate zone rate per 150 games: The number of runs above or below average a fielder is, per 150 defensive games.) in the league at minus-16.7, so far this year he ranks 9th in baseball with a plus-6.1. He's not Omar Vizquel in his prime, but he's a lot better than he used to be.

Prior to the start of the 2008 season there were reports that Jeter had worked a lot on his lateral movement during the offseason. Joel Sherman wrote at the time,

He rededicated himself in the offseason with exercises designed to improve his lateral quickness and first-step explosiveness. One Yankee official saw this version of Jeter and said, "He set the clock back five years."

So whether it's due to better positioning, improved lateral movement, or a little bit of both, it looks like the Yankee official was right.