For reasons beyond my understanding it has become popular throughout baseball’s modern statistical community to question the fielding abilities of the New York Yankees’ perennial All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner (2004-06) Derek Jeter.
In early 2008 the New York Post ran an article entitled “Study Claims Jeter Is Worst Fielding Shortstop In Baseball.” The article cited a study by the University of Pennsylvania which was unveiled at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in (get this) Boston. In November of 2008 the Post ran yet another article about Jeter’s fielding abilities. This time a panel of so-called experts, including Red Sox Executive Bill James, voted Jeter 22nd among Big League shortstops. James himself referred to Jeter as “the least effective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position.”
James pointed to a Baseball Info Solutions’ (BIS) study of film as his reasoning for Jeter’s questionable ranking saying, “they [BIS] watched film of every major-league game, and had recorded every ball off the bat by the direction in which it was hit, the type of hit and how hard the ball was hit. They analyzed the outcomes to determine who was best at turning hit balls into outs.”
As I became ever more curious about Jeter’s somewhat surprising defensive short-comings I decided to do some number crunching of my own. I decided to pick apart the box scores to determine what impact, positive or negative, Jeter’s fielding abilities had on the Yankees over the years. I looked at games in which Jeter had made an error and determined (from the play-by-play accounts) whether that error led to the Yankees’ opponents scoring a run(s) and/or winning the game. I then weighed the cost of his errors against the positives of his hitting in those games.
For his career Derek Jeter’s errors break down like this (with DPT being double plays turned):
Year Errors Runs on E DPT Batting 1995 2 1 2 2-7 RBI 1996 22 18 10 17-67 2 HR, 13 RBI, 16 R 1997 18 14 12 15-73 3 HR, 17 RBI, 13 R 1998 9 1 10 23-48 2 HR, 6 RBI, 13 R 1999 14 9 9 20-58 3 HR, 11 RBI, 10 R 2000 24 10 10 33-92 3 HR, 11 RBI, 22 R 2001 15 9 6 14-58 2 HR, 11 RBI, 10 R 2002 14 9 3 16-56 3 HR, 7 RBI, 11 R 2003 14 8 7 21-60 HR, 11 RBI, 14 R 2004 13 6 5 9-52 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R 2005 15 8 10 21-59 2 HR, 4 RBI, 9 R 2006 15 7 10 19-64 3 HR, 15 RBI, 7 R 2007 18 14 11 16-60 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R 2008 12 10 10 16-50 3 RBI, 5 R Total 205 114 115 .301, 26 HR, 121 RBI, 141 R
Out of the 192 games in which Jeter has committed an error he cost his team a victory in exactly 10 of those games.
Two of those games came in 1996 (7/18 and 9/3), three in 1997 (5/5, 5/9, 5/27), one in 1999 (8/19), one in 2000 (6/27), one in 2007 (6/2) and two last season (5/20 and 7/3). The Yankees not only made the playoffs but won the World Series in 1996, 1999 and 2000, so we can assume that those errors are forgiven and forgotten. The Bronx Bombers missed the playoffs by two games in 2007 and six games in 2008. Despite costing his team these games, Jeter did not single-handedly keep the Yankees from playing in October.
However, the 1997 season is a different story. That summer stands out as Jeter cost his team three contests during a season in which the Yanks missed the post season by only two games.
On May 5th, 1997 Jeter booted a ball in the ninth inning allowing the Minnesota Twins to take a 9-5 lead heading into the bottom of the frame. Doing all that he could to make amends Jeter belted a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th but it wasn’t enough as the Yanks lost by one, 9-8. Four days later against Kansas City Jeter’s batting heroics would be overshadowed again. After belting a 2-run homer in the seventh inning to give the home squad a 5-3 lead Jeff Nelson gave up a game-tying homer in the eighth. Finally, in the top of the 12th Jeter committed the error which would cost the Yankees the game as they lost 7-5.
Then, on the 27th of May a Jeter error opened the floodgates on a 5-run Baltimore fifth inning from which the Yankees could not recover. Jeter’s errors cost his team those three games, but it should be noted that all of them occurred in May and, no matter what anyone may say; pennant races are not won and lost in May.
Regardless of the conclusions of any individual study, scientific or otherwise, there is no question that Derek Jeter is nothing less than a solid defender. For anyone to even infer that he may be the worst fielder in all of baseball is simply ridiculous. Truth be told, the current version of Derek Jeter is flashing better leather than the 23-year-old kid who made those costly errors in 1997.
In 2008 Jeter made fewer errors than all but one American League shortstop (Gold Glove winner Michael Young). Yuniesky Betancourt made 21 errors and swung a very average stick. I have yet to see one article proclaiming Betancourt the “least effective” defensive player in the game. Perhaps that’s because articles and studies about Yuniesky Betancourt are about as interesting as an Andy Warhol flick. Derek Jeter’s celebrity is enormous. I can’t think of another shortstop in the big leagues that makes commercials and dates movie stars. Is there a better way to get people talking about your study or newspaper article than to discount the abilities of one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet?
There are plenty of questionable fielders in the big leagues who hold down jobs because they swing a big stick. Ryan Howard made 19 errors at first base last season (tied for the most at that position in the NL since 2001). Clearly this is overlooked when you can drive in 146 runs and lead your team to the playoffs. Hanley Ramirez led the Majors in errors by a shortstop last season (22) and is averaging 24 mishaps per year since 2006. However, when you average 26 home runs, 69 runs batted in, 123 runs scored and 45 stolen bases over that same stretch your errors tend to be overlooked.
Mike Piazza, Jeff Kent and Manny Ramirez have been considered butchers at their positions for years. Still, they all managed to keep their jobs just long enough to produce Hall of Fame careers. Perhaps it had something to do with two factors. First, their perception of bad fielding was always much worse than the reality and second, these guys could flat-out hit. Great offense will always make up for a player’s defensive shortcomings. Players such as the few mentioned above will always have a job whether they can field or not because their offensive run production will forever outweigh the many runs they give up during a poor defensive moment. I don’t care if every computer on the planet says Derek Jeter can’t field a lick; it won’t matter in the least because the man can flat out hit.
In fact, I’ll even go as far to say that fielding a superb defensive player who can’t hit is much more detrimental to a team. Case-in-point: Mark Belanger. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Yes, those Orioles teams he and Brooks Robinson anchored defensively were very successful during the 1970s. Four World Series trips in a decade is nothing to sneeze at. However, when you come away with only one title you have to wonder if Baltimore would have been better off having a player who hit higher than .164 with one extra base hit in their 22 Series games.
Belanger (an 8-time Gold Glove winner) also committed 5 errors and turned only 7 double plays in his World Series visits. In 32 Series games Derek Jeter and his minimally effective glove committed only 3 errors while turning 17 double plays. For good measure Jeter hit .308 in those 32 contests while belting 3 homers, driving in 8 and scoring 27 times.
The point is, unless you want to sound like you have been smoking the finest opium China has to offer, no one should refer to Derek Jeter as the worst at anything baseball related. His accolades speak for themselves. My guess is Derek Jeter could probably care less what Bill James or the University of Pennsylvania has to say about his defense. In all honesty, what do you think Bill James and the Boston Red Sox would rather do on a daily basis, platoon Julio Lugo, Jed Lowrie and Alex Cora or pencil in Derek Sanderson Jeter on the lineup card?
