Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way early. We all know about the 4 World Series, his numerous achievements off the field (think about it), the Gold Gloves, the All-Star games, but what exactly is it that makes Jeter so great? To really appreciate just what a special player he is, you have to look beyond the nightly box score. There is something about the way he plays and what he brings to the table every night that makes him arguably the most indispensable player in the game.
One only needs to look back to the 2003 season to see the impact he has on his team. Hustling to third on Opening Day against the Blue Jays, Jeter injured his wrist and missed 36 games. Sure, it was a relatively short DL stint and the Yankees went 26-10 in those games but there was always that gaping hole in the middle of the infield that just couldn't be filled. Everyone remembers the image of Aaron Boone from that season, but lost in that image was Jeter hitting .324 in the regular season and .314 in the playoffs. Did I mention these numbers were both coming off a wrist injury? I can barely type when my wrist hurts a little. Try swinging a bat and fielding in the majors after dislocating a wrist.
But these aren't the type of things that make a player truly special. Any player can have a year that makes people say "wow" (or "hmmm" in the case of Brady Anderson) and still not be considered special. What makes a player special is the ability to excel at every aspect of the game day in and day out over many seasons. It's pretty safe to say that the poster boy for this in the modern day is Derek Jeter. A few things that get looked over when people look at Jeter's career.
- Passed Luis Aparicio for #1 all time in hits by a shortstop in 2009
- Second behind Lou Gherig for all time hits by a Yankee
- Third youngest player in the modern era to have 2,700 hits
- 34 stolen bases in 2006 (finished 2nd in AL MVP voting)
- .309 career average in the playoffs
- .976 career fielding percentage
The number that really sticks out among all of these monster numbers is the 34 stolen bases. What a lift to your team if you can take pressure off the batter to move you around on the base pads. With the exception of a few teams in MLB, the stolen base is a bit of a forgotten art in baseball. It's no coincidence that Jeter scored 118 runs that reason. The ability to move yourself into scoring position can be invaluable to a team, especially if that team is struggling to gets hits and drive in runs.
More than anything, if there was one word I would use to describe Derek Jeter would have to be "flexible". Now before we spiral downward into the Jeter man-love jokes I'll explain what I mean. How many times have we seen a player that is completely incapable of moving out of a certain comfort spot in the batting order? Manager Joe Girardi decided to experiment with Jeter in the lead off spot this season and he hasn't missed a beat, batting for his highest average since his MVP runner-up season in 2006. In big spots, how often can you tell that a player is up at the plate swinging for the fences and the highlight hit in place of fundamentals or the "right" play for that moment? There is no ego in Jeter's game. He is not above going up to the plate and laying down a sacrifice bunt to move runners up in place of trying to inflate his RBI numbers with a big swing. There is just something about the captain of the team giving himself up as an out that just makes me nod in approval.
So sit back and enjoy watching Jeter play the game. He is a once in a generation player. I'm just glad he plays for my team.
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