I have so much respect for Derek Jeter and I agree with the poster that called him their once in a lifetime player. He's that sort of player for me. He's so damn good and he's actually underrated, IMO. People see his stats and compare it to a guy like Arod and say Jeter can't compare. I say bullsh*t, I'll take Jeter all day every day.
Jeter is as solid as anyone ever at SS. He doesn't have amazing range like an Omar Vizquel, but he's as good as they come in every other aspect of the position. I've never seen a guy go back on a ball as good as Jeter. If you've ever played SS, you know how hard it is to make those plays and he's amazing at it. He's so good at charging balls and throwing on the run. His backhand and jump throw to his right is legendary. He's got amazing hands. He's always in the right place at the right time and it's not dumb luck, he's a very smart SS. But the number guys tell you that his range factor is terrible so he's a below average SS.
Jeter is an amazing base runner. He's certainly not as fast as someone like Jose Reyes, but he's plenty fast enough. I've watched probably well over 80% of Yankee games since Derek Jeter has been on the team and I can remember one baserunning mistake. The reason I remember that is because I have always been amazed that he's never made a baserunning mistake. I think he got thrown out at 3rd to end an inning and I was in shock because I've never seen that before. I'm not talking about a caught stealing or getting thrown out trying to score. He always knows when to take a shot and when not to. He's as smart on the bases as anyone I've ever watched. But Jeter only averages 20 SB's a season, he's just average.
Jeter is big time. When the pressure is at it's highest, he's as cool as you can be. He performs vs the bad teams and good teams. The star pitchers and the bad pitchers. The junk ballers and the flame throwers. He's just a consistent hitter and it doesn't change in the playoffs. He's not going to hit 40 HR's and 130RBI, that's not his game, but the guy that hits all those HR's isn't going to get 130 RBI if jeter isn't hitting in front of him.
To me, Derek Jeter is just really good at every aspect of the game and brings it each and every night. He will always contribute to a team even though he doesn't have gawdy power numbers. I will miss Derek Jeter who I have always tried to model my game after. Who I teach my daughter to play like when she plays.
Jeter is as solid as anyone ever at SS. He doesn't have amazing range like an Omar Vizquel, but he's as good as they come in every other aspect of the position. I've never seen a guy go back on a ball as good as Jeter. If you've ever played SS, you know how hard it is to make those plays and he's amazing at it. He's so good at charging balls and throwing on the run. His backhand and jump throw to his right is legendary. He's got amazing hands. He's always in the right place at the right time and it's not dumb luck, he's a very smart SS. But the number guys tell you that his range factor is terrible so he's a below average SS.
Jeter is an amazing base runner. He's certainly not as fast as someone like Jose Reyes, but he's plenty fast enough. I've watched probably well over 80% of Yankee games since Derek Jeter has been on the team and I can remember one baserunning mistake. The reason I remember that is because I have always been amazed that he's never made a baserunning mistake. I think he got thrown out at 3rd to end an inning and I was in shock because I've never seen that before. I'm not talking about a caught stealing or getting thrown out trying to score. He always knows when to take a shot and when not to. He's as smart on the bases as anyone I've ever watched. But Jeter only averages 20 SB's a season, he's just average.
Jeter is big time. When the pressure is at it's highest, he's as cool as you can be. He performs vs the bad teams and good teams. The star pitchers and the bad pitchers. The junk ballers and the flame throwers. He's just a consistent hitter and it doesn't change in the playoffs. He's not going to hit 40 HR's and 130RBI, that's not his game, but the guy that hits all those HR's isn't going to get 130 RBI if jeter isn't hitting in front of him.
To me, Derek Jeter is just really good at every aspect of the game and brings it each and every night. He will always contribute to a team even though he doesn't have gawdy power numbers. I will miss Derek Jeter who I have always tried to model my game after. Who I teach my daughter to play like when she plays.