The idea of Derek Jeter playing for a team other than the New York Yankees seems heretical.
He’s one of the greatest Yankees — maybe even the greatest Yankee. In a franchise that has seen its share of roof-busting talent, Jeter’s stands alone, not only for his exemplary career-long on-field production, but because he did it all without causing a massive stir off of the field. He, like Mariano Rivera, has become an ambassador for not only New York pinstripes, but for the game of baseball itself.
However, much like old generals, the greatest baseball players don’t die, they just fade away, and it’s time for the Yankees to start thinking about fading Jeter out. Next season Jeter will be 40 years old. With a nagging ankle injury that is severely impeding his range and mobility, the Yankees could, dare I say it, do better than The Captain.
Some think — Gregg Zaun insists — that 40 is the new 30, and I can see that for a retired fella like Zauny. But 40 is really is hard to hide on a Major League Baseball field, at the premium position of shortstop, for a premium franchise like the Yankees.
Consider that Derek Jeter has never been one of the premier defensive shortstops in baseball. His lifetime Ultimate Zone Ranking (UZR) rates are in the negative, as are his defensive wins above replacement (dWAR) rates.
To be fair, a lot of players at premium defensive positions post negative numbers in these categories, but they remain there because they make up the difference in defensive production with scale-tipping offensive production.
Such is the case with Jeter. In spades, actually. This year is the only year since 1995 (when he played in 15 games as a rookie call up) that he has not added value with his bat, as measured by offensive wins above replacement. He’s a career .300 hitter during the regular season, the post-season, and with runners in scoring position. Jeter also sports a career OPS above .800.
I could rattle off all his records, but those comprehensive career numbers are legend-worthy in and of themselves when you consider he’s been doing it for 18 seasons. Jeter will assuredly go down in history as one of the best shortstops of all-time, mostly for his hitting, joining the likes of Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken Jr., and Ozzie Smith.
Jeter’s plaque for Cooperstown has already been ordered. The only thing missing is the fairytale ending. Unfortunately, age and injury have a way of ruining endings, and if Jeter comes back in 2014 older, slower, and less productive, surrounded by other older players who are slower and less productive—many with heavy, inflexible contracts—that fairytale finish is a lot less likely to happen.
This isn’t to say Jeter should quit now, or get out while the getting is good. Far from it. He’s too important to the Yankees, and to baseball to go out like this, after a season cut short by injury.
And when I say Important, I do mean important beyond being “The Captain,” the inspirational figurehead of the Yanks and the closest thing to an actual superhero in costume in the city of Metropolis. Important beyond the political power of his immaculate image and how it plays Yin to the Alex Rodriguez reality show Yang. Important beyond all the jerseys he’ll sell during his own Mariano-esque farewell tour.
Jeter is important because if his bat has any pop left in it, even at 40, the Yanks will need it. After all, Jeter isn’t the only aging question mark in the Yankee’s lineup. And if the question marks have no answers, then they’ll definitely want Jeter’s storyline around to draw attention away from all the shoulder shrugs and head scratching management will offer as reason for the win-loss column. “Yes, we suck and we’re old and over-paid, but hey, look, a healthy Derek Jeter!”
Thankfully, a guy who can hit as well as Jeter can in high-pressure situations can always find a role. Finding a new closer, wondering if A-Rod will be eligible to play, if Robinson Cano will return, if Mark Teixeira will hold up, if Hiroki Kuroda will stay, if Andy Pettitte is out of gas, if…. Wondering if Jeter has enough in the tank to work in a part-time role with a proven situational and post-season bat seems like small potatoes.
Also, I don’t like to put a lot of stock in the transference of “how to play the game the right way” based on rookie to veteran exposure, but in the case of Jeter to any younger player, I think you have to.
If Yanks are going to start auditioning for his replacement, I can think of less productive things than keeping Jeter around to help mentor the unfortunate SOB whose job it will be to fill his shoes, even from a defensive standpoint. Jeter may not have been the best, but he was rock steady at the routine in the pressure cooker of the Bronx.
If the Yankees are worried about Jeter’s age and health (they should be) but don’t want to risk the massive political outrage of taking him out of the lineup in what could be his final year, they should split his time with another aging position player: Alex Rodriguez.
Yes, I understand seeing Jeter at any position but shortstop is heresy, and fans will probably want third base scrubbed lest Jeter catch any A-Rod mojo, but A-Rod will be 38 next season and he’ll need some time off his feet himself. It’s much easier for Jeter to slide over there than head to, as some say, the outfield or first base.
Furthermore, if a new shortstop is on the scene, having Jeter right next to him in the infield might be the best of both worlds… or, well, to the Yankees diehard, the as good as it’s going to get of both worlds.
Personally, I’m all for the Yankees losing. If they want to run a 40-year-old man with limited range out to shortstop every day so the fan base can have its last hurrah with their beloved, I’m fine with it. If Jeter stays healthy he’ll probably field all the balls that are hit to him, and go the opposite way enough times to punch ten over the wall and hit .250.
But the risk of Jeter getting hurt is at its all time high — if this coming year is to be his last, it’s not unwise to think that way about every year Jeter plays from here on — and you want him to finish healthy, for the sake of the fairytale.
With that in mind, though it may seem sacrilegious to limit his play or change his position, if the alternative is him limping up and down the dugout, retiring as a cheerleader, well, I’m sure he could play a serviceable first base.