Derek Jeter Was Great, But 3,000 Hits Shouldn't Enhance His Resume
By Ty Duffy
Derek Jeter reached 3,000 hits, in case you weren’t aware. His last 257, however, have come while he was hurting his team. The last two seasons he has hit .270/.337/.364 with an 89 OPS+ (100 is average), well below his prime from 1998 to 2009, .320/.391/.466 and 124 OPS+. Perhaps his awesome presence was propelling the Yankees to victory, because his play certainly was not.
The pattern is similar with other players who have hit the milestone since 1990, with Gwynn, Winfield and a steroidal Rafael Palmeiro being notable exceptions.
* Cal Ripken
Prime (1982 to 1991): .280/.350/.469, 127 OPS+
Beyond 31: 1,422 hits, .271/.329/.424, 96 OPS+
* Paul Molitor
Prime (1987 to 1994): .323/.393/.485, 140 OPS+
Beyond 38: 672 hits, .302/.359/.430, 103 OPS+
* Eddie Murray
Prime (1978 to 1990): .295/.375/.496, 141 OPS+
Beyond 38: 435 hits, .272/.328/.436, 95 OPS+
* George Brett
Prime (1975 to 1990): .314/.382/.511, 145 OPS+
Beyond 38: 447 hits, .270/.323/.411 99 OPS+
* Robin Yount
Prime (1980 to 1989): .305/.365/.485, 135 OPS+
Beyond 34: 540 hits, .257/.330/.381, 99 OPS+
* Craig Biggio
Prime (1991-1999): .299/.391/.451, 128 OPS+
Beyond 38: 599 hits, .262/.315/.438, 92 OPS+
* Wade Boggs
Prime (1983 to 1991): .345/.436/.473, 147 OPS+
Beyond 38: 469 hits, .297/.372/.392, 97 OPS+
Use more advanced metrics if you wish, but it’s clear that all seven were very good to great hitters in their prime. All seven got to 3,000 by limping through multiple subpar seasons when they were past the point of no return. The only hitter who was average over his final run to hit the magic number was Molitor and being merely league average in the DH hole was probably hurting the Twins. Piling on a few crappy seasons at the end shouldn’t enhance a player’s resume.
Derek Jeter was a great player. Judge him, and every other player, by how great they were in their prime, not by how long they hung around to pad their stats. Assessing players by compiled numbers is baseball tradition, but, like many baseball traditions, it is illogical and asinine.
[Photo via Getty]