Jeter's glove springs a leak
OHMIGOD!!! Derek Jeter has a major league-leading six errors!
He never was any good at shortstop! He's obviously getting old, and he sucks even more than ever now! My grandma has better range going left! Better move him to the outfield and let A-Rod go back to shortstop!
Jeter's THE WORST shortstop in the big leagues!!!!!!
All those Jeter haters who love to rip the Yankee shortstop's defense have to be loving Jeter's early-season fielding woes.
After back-to-back Gold Glove seasons, Jeter has struggled so far in 2007, hardly looking like the sure-handed, trustworthy shortstop Yankee fans have come to know.
Those struggles open the door to something that has been a long-running debate about Jeter. Is he a top-notch Gold Glove caliber defender, or is he really an overrated, sub-par shortstop with no range who gets too much credit just because he has made a few memorable plays?
Statheads will point to their numbers and say Jeter has no range, therefore he's no good.
From a recent New York Times article.
In the 2007 “Bill James Handbook,” there is a statistic called range factor. It is defined as the number of successful chances (putouts plus assists) times nine and divided by the number of innings played. Jeter’s range factor was 4.14 in 2006, which was 25th among the 30 regular shortstops in the major leagues.The Hardball Times touts something they call 'Zone Rating,' which measures how many plays a fielder makes vs. how many balls are hit into his zone. Using this system, 'Hardball's' experts have decided that Jeter is terrible.
Derek Jeter looks a little below average at first, but he’s even worse than that. Jeter has very limited range. Only Jason Bartlett made fewer plays outside the zone, but Jeter played almost 50% more innings than Bartlett.Jeter has heard the criticisms, and in that recent New York Times article he had a response for the statheads.
"They think they have a mathematical equation that figures everything out,” Jeter said. “Like every single person is out there with the same runner and the same pitcher and the ball is hit in the same exact place. It seems like once somebody says one thing about you, people tend to run with it and we never hear the end of it."I have to agree. The numbers may say one thing about Jeter, but watch the games night after night and you get a different impression.
I will give you that there are balls hit past him to his left where you sometimes think "I can't believe he couldn't get to that." Other than that, however, he can do it all.
He charges the slow roller as well as anybody -- Phil Rizzuto always said he made that play better than anyone he ever saw. He has more range than anyone on pop-ups to the outfield. He's brilliant making plays in the hole. He also turns a smooth double play, and his arm is strong and true on relays.
If you're a Yankee fan and you know a play needs to get made, you always hope the ball is hit where Jeter can be involved. He has a knack for making the right play at the right time. If you root against the Yankees, you're thinking 'hit it anywhere, except at No. 2.'
Two examples of Jeter's defensive abilities came in games the last two nights. Monday, he fielded a slow grounder up the middle -- to his left -- spun completely two steps into the outfield and threw out the runner at first. Last night, he combined with Robinson Cano to turn a brilliant double play and get Kei Igawa out of an early jam
So, point to your numbers all you want. They tell a small part of the story, but 'range factor' alone can't measure a player's defensive ability. Just like home runs aren't the only way to measure an offensive player.
Jeter makes the plays that are supposed to be made, and always seems to come up with something special when the situation calls for it.
That's good enough for me.
technorati tags: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
12 comments:
First off, it's utterly true that there's no such thing as a perfect fielding stat. In fact, there's nothing that even vaguely approximates it. Zone Rating, Range Factor, and the rest are merely pieces of a puzzle.
But here's the thing: all the pieces say Jeter is a bad shortstop. He gets a free pass from most people because he's made some legitimately spectacular plays, but I'd much rather have a shortstop who can make all the plays that normally come up in a game even if he doesn't go flying head-first into the stands.
Compare Jeter to a guy like Adam Everett, who gets nowhere near enough credit for his defense. Everett gets to more balls than anyone, and he turns those chances into outs. Jeter, on the other hand, doesn't get to many balls and has a tendency to commit errors when he does (as evidenced this year).
Derek Jeter is a very good player, but most of his value comes from the fact that he's a great hitter who plays a very tough defensive position. But he's below average, and certainly no Gold Glover.
On a side note, Gold Gloves are perhaps the worst possible way to argue that a guy is a good defender: they go to great offensive players. Case in point: Rafael Palmeiro won the 1999 Gold Glove at first base despite playing just 28 games there! He won the award because he was the best offensive first baseman in the league (.324, 47 HR), not because of his defense, and that's the same reason Jeter has multiple Gold Gloves.
In general, "this statistic doesn't agree with my anecdotal evidence, so the statistic is inaccurate" is a bad argument. Observation alone is a remarkably poor way to judge games (like baseball and poker) where the difference in results between good and bad play is both probabilistic and pretty marginal.
You're right that Range Factor doesn't say a lot about a player's defensive abilities--in fact, it's a terrible metric--but ZR is better, and it shows Jeter's lack of range as well. And even more sophisticated stats (UZR, FRAA, Moneyball Runs) also show that Jeter is generally significantly worse than average at SS, although he was improved last year. It appears he's regressing to his usual performance this year so far, though.
You have to admit that no matter if you look at stats or watch his games, Jeter is by no means a gold glover. He may be clutch and may make certain plays look smooth, but his range is seriously lacking. I watch almost every Yankee game and while the Yankee announcers never point this out, any real baseball fan can the issue with his range (especially to his left). Just watch a guy like Adam Everett, Jose Reyes or Orlando Cabrera and you will see much better range.
With that all being said I would still put him as an above average defender, just not near a gold glover. Check out beersandwiches.blogspot.com!
Rob Neyer's been noting fundamental errors Jeter's made this year where Singleton is sorta pointing it out without coming right out and saying that Jeter blew it. He's gotten a free pass for so long due to some legitimately heads-up plays he's made in the past, but he's never been a good shortstop. Last year he was decent, but not great. This year so far he's been worse than even his below-average self.
That said, Jeter should have won the MVP last year over Morneau. That's a case where all those fancy new statistical people who think Jeter sucks on defense actually supported Jeter. Stats aren't 'Jeter haters', Jeter just isn't good at defense. He is what he is: a great hitting shortstop with an absolute cannon for an arm but range that leaves a lot to be desired, and if you can't get to the ball, you can't make it an out. Even so, I'd take him on my team in a second. Bad defense doesn't mean he's even an average player, he's still damn good.
I have to agree with all the comments so far about the Gold Glove. Jeter should not be winning them -- and they are a terrible way to measure defensive prowess. They are given on name and reputation, not performance. That said, I am very comfortable with Jeter at shortstop.
As an impartial viewer I was watching the game and the play you mention from Monday where he went left and spun and ended up in right field. After that play happened I swear to god my first thought was how someone would use that play as some proof of his fielding prowess. I dare you to go back to the video and notice how amazingly slow he got to a ball that was not even up the middle, it was definitely "in his zone." 90% of shortstops make that play routine. Jeter made a routine play, but since he's a bad fielder, he made it look like a good play. That's why his fielding stats are bad but so many people think he's good.
What's funny is the no one is debating that Jeter is a great player, just that he is a terrible fielder. I don't think most rational people doubt that. He is, however, good at catching pop flies (anywhere near him) and has a strong arm. That's why so many people think he'd be a great CF. But, no matter how bad a fielder he is, he certainly makes up for it with his bat. There's aren't too many other shortstops in baseball that I'd rather have.
That first anonymous comment nails it right on the head. I laughed when I saw that play in Toronto because it was a routine grounder that was nowhere near the 2nd base bag. That's a play that EVERY major league shortstop will make, and Jeter is just about the only one who can turn it into a "web gem."
So, point to your numbers all you want. They tell a small part of the story, but 'range factor' alone can't measure a player's defensive ability. Just like home runs aren't the only way to measure an offensive player.
If I needed to convince anyone that you approach baseball analysis with all the sophistication of an autistic 5-year-old, I need only to have them read this sentence.
There isn't a single "stathead" who has made either claim you allude to. To mention either as contrapositives to your argument is like saying the sky is blue because it's not red. But that probably strikes you as sound logic.
To argue Jeter's worth as a defensive shortstop at this point is a waste of time, which is probably why it's just now ending up in the NY Times.
Perhaps the only thing less surprising than a myopic fanboy defending The Captain against the "nerds" is a Yankee fan saying moronic things about Alex Rodriguez w/r/t early/late season performance. Which you manage to do exactly one fucking post below. Priceless.
Here's a hint: Know what it is you're arguing against before arguing against it. And stop using the Times as a conclusive reference point for sports.
Game one -- world series -- you can field any team you want -- who is your shortstop? ... DJ ... end of story ... statistics don't win ball games ... players win ball games ....
you can field any team you want -- who is your shortstop?
Alex Rodriguez-- the best SS on the Yankees.
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