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| Friday, February 9 | |||||
| Jeter's defense, part II ESPN.com | |||||
Regarding my last column, about Derek Jeter and his peers ...
Tom Bell Chicago
Derek Nomar Alex
Games 455 418 438
ModOPS 1083 1160 1113
("ModOPS" stands for Modified OPS, where OBP is weighted 40 percent more heavily than slugging.)
This closes up the ranks quite a bit, as Jeter draws close to Rodriguez in the hitting stat, and looks significantly better than Garciaparra when it comes to durability. Throw in their home ballparks, and the one-year difference in age, and I might be convinced that Jeter will, indeed, be just as valuable as Garciaparra over the next decade or so.
But the real thrust of Wednesday's column was this: there is no evidence that Jeter is the outstanding defensive player that we're told he is. That doesn't mean he's not a great player. All things considered, he's still an A (and not a B+, as I argued Wednesday). He's just not the A+ that some writers and broadcasters advertise.
Because to be an A+, he'd have to be an outstanding defensive shortstop, and I maintain that there's virtually no evidence to suggest that. To that end, I'll ask the same question today that I asked Wednesday: If you have an outstanding defensive shortstop, would you expect him to make more plays than his replacements, or fewer?
I think you would expect him to make more plays than his replacements. It's such an obvious conclusion that I worry that I'm wasting your precious time when I stress the point.
And as we saw Wednesday, Derek Jeter has actually made fewer plays than his replacements. He's made 4.27 plays per nine innings, and his replacements -- among them, Luis Sojo, Andy Fox and Alfonso Soriano -- have made 4.31 plays per nine innings.
Given that the thrust of my argument wound up being that Jeter is not an outstanding defensive shortstop, I didn't bother checking anyone else. But I was on ESPN Radio that evening, and in the course of castigating my callous disregard for intangibles and whatnot, co-host Chris Moore lambasted me for failing to run the same numbers for Garciaparra and Rodriguez.
Moore's criticism was unfounded, because I never claimed that either Garciaparra or Rodriguez are great defensive shortstops. Nevertheless, I decided to check anyway, throwing in another famous American League shortstop as well.
Jeter Nomar Alex Omar
Range 4.27 4.58 4.63 4.62
Others 4.31 4.65 4.56 4.57
For Jeter, the sample size includes five seasons, 6,767 of his defensive innings, and 461 defensive innings for his replacements.
For Garciaparra, the sample size includes four seasons, 4,956 of his innings, and 821 innings for his replacements.
For Rodriguez, the sample size includes five seasons, 6,291 innings, and 889 innings for his replacements.
And for Omar Vizquel, the sample size includes five seasons, 6,479 innings, and 752 innings for his replacements.
I suspect that if you look at the table again, something will strike you ... there was virtually no difference between the number of plays made by the regular shortstops and their replacements.
While this certainly doesn't prove anything, what this suggests is that the number of plays made by a shortstop -- and, by extension, players at every position -- are highly dependant on the pitching staff, and other outside factors.
Let's check another pair of shortstops, Rey Sanchez and Rey Ordonez, both of whom are generally regarded as excellent fielders.
Sanchez Ordonez
Range 5.28 4.64
Others 4.81 4.38
For Sanchez, the sample includes two seasons with Kansas City (1999 was his first as a regular since 1995), 2,327 defensive innings, and 533 defensive innings for his replacements.
For Ordonez, the sample includes five seasons, 5,179 innings, and (a whopping) 2,085 innings for his replacements.
The differences in plays made between these guys and their replacements are still not huge, but at least they're noticeable.
We shouldn't be too hasty in reaching any conclusions. That said, I now suspect that neither Derek Jeter nor Nomar Garciaparra nor Alex Rodriguez nor Omar Vizquel is truly an outstanding defensive shortstop, while both Sanchez and Ordonez are at least very good.
So why do many people continue to tout Jeter and Vizquel (and others) as great defensive players? It's very simple, really. Those guys often look outstanding, making barehanded grabs (Vizquel) or powerful throws from the hole (Jeter). Unfortunately, the most important thing about playing defense -- the quickness of the fielder's first step -- is something that virtually nobody notices, because we're too busy watching the ball come off the bat.
So instead, we tend to rate defensive players on what happens at the end of the play, rather than the beginning. We rate them on style.
And sometimes we get lucky, and it works.
Ozzie Smith was probably the most spectacular shortstop that we've seen, and that's why he won 13 Gold Gloves. But he also created an immense number of outs with his dazzling glovework. Ozzie led the National League in Range Factor seven times.
Bill Mazeroski was probably the most spectacular second baseman of the last half-century, and that's why he won eight Gold Gloves. But he also created an immense number of outs. Maz led the National League in Range Factor eight times.
Those guys weren't brilliant defensive players because they looked great; it just worked out that way.
Gary Huckabay writes, "We wouldn't dream of judging hitters based on the appearance of their swing, but the public and broadcasting mainstream wouldn't dream of judging defense any other way."
Gary's got a great point. I'll never forget the day I watched Rob Ducey take batting practice. Most impressive pre-game display I've ever seen, this side of Mark McGwire. But nobody considered or considers Rob Ducey a superstar, because he didn't produce the numbers of a superstar. Add up his sweet line-drive swing and his mediocre performance, and you get the 24th or 25th guy on the roster.
But if you look good in the field, they'll give you a Gold Glove, actual performance be damned.
And if you can hit, too? By God, they'll give you the keys to New York City.
Rob Neyer is a Senior Writer for ESPN.com. His baseball column runs three times per week from November through February. Send this story to a friend | ALSO SEE Neyer: Jeter's no A-Rod or Nomar Stark: Rumblings and Grumblings Rivera, Yankees close to four-year deal | ||||