[jackman]

Actually a few!   

1999
2006
2009

No shame in not being the best at his position in more years.  This was the age of the offensive shortstop and Jeter was competing on a yearly basis with other HOF players such as A-Rod and Larkin - as well as very good players such as Garciapara.

BTW, as much as it pains me to say it...if A-Rod stayed at SS and didn't move to 3rd base, he would probably be the best ever.  Of course, he would have a huge * next to his name due to PED's.  Not an issue with Wagner, Ripken, or Jeter. 

George

Hey George, I'm on a conf call at work but recall 1999, Jeter was not even in the top 3 in my opinion.  Your guy A-Roid and Nomar were the top of the 1999 class.  Jeter's offensive numbers were close (but not better) but A-Roid and Nomar were MUCH better defensively.  Jeter is a solid defensive shortstop with no range.  Everyone outside of NYC admits his last Gold Glove was a total gift.  Alexi Ramirez from the White Sox deserved the award.  Jeter is a lot like Ryne Sandberg, a very good bat, doesn't make errors but doesn't get to a lot of balls the good fielders routinely get to.  I watched Sandberg play for years and he never got his uniform dirty, but he made all of the plays on balls he got to. 

Lastly, don't be so quick to dismiss Ernie Banks (compared to Jeter).  Banks had way more power (512 homers in an era where it was rare for SS's to hit lots of homers), played for crap teams with no protection in the lineup, and was always among the top defensive SS's in the league when he played the position.  He played lots of games at first base later in his career, so I guess you can count that against his shortstop ratings. 

[jackman]

Hi George,
I deleted my response because there is no right answer.  You have every right to your opinion regarding Jeter and his position on the all-time list.  Congratulations to all Yankee fans on this achievement by one of the best (and one of my favorite Yankee players). 

I'm saving all of my negative stuff for when A-Rod breaks the HR record...if his body doesn't break down from all of the roid use first!

Cheers,

J

[zybar]

Jackman,

I want to go on record...A-Rod is definitely not my guy!!!

My top five favorite Yanks in order are:

1.  Don Mattingly
2.  Thurman Munson
3.  Derek Jeter
4.  Mariano Rivera
5.  Ron Guidry

A-rod will never make that list or hold a spot in my heart the way those guys plus Bernie, Tino, Paul, Nettles, Sweet Lou, Randolph, Gossage, and many others do.

As for Banks...

Awesome player, very good hitter, and well deserving member of the HOF.  However, he only played 9 seasons out of 19 at shortstop and 11 out of 19 seasons at first base.  His offensive stats while playing shortstop fall well short of Wagner, Ripken, Jeter, and Larkin.   Accordingly, I view him in the same light as Robin Yount...HOF player yes, all-time shortstop no.

George

[zybar]

Hi George,
I deleted my response because there is no right answer.  You have every right to your opinion regarding Jeter and his position on the all-time list.  Congratulations to all Yankee fans on this achievement by one of the best (and one of my favorite Yankee players). 

I'm saving all of my negative stuff for when A-Rod breaks the HR record...if his body doesn't break down from all of the roid use first!

Cheers,

J

I wish you didn't delete your response. 

Your opinion is no less valid than mine and I was really looking forward to reading it.

Plus, one of the great aspects about baseball (vs the other sports) is this type of player comparison or discussion.

George

[jackman]

Hi George - I'd rather argue these things in person over a beer or at least an iced tea.  Hopefully we have a chance one of these days. Your list of favorite Yankees is very solid , even the back-ups!  Just kidding about A-Rod being your guy. He might end up with the best stats to never get into the HOF.

[zybar]

Hi George - I'd rather argue these things in person over a beer or at least an iced tea.  Hopefully we have a chance one of these days. Your list of favorite Yankees is very solid , even the back-ups!  Just kidding about A-Rod being your guy. He might end up with the best stats to never get into the HOF.

Maybe RMAF in October?

First round is on me!   

George

[twitch54]

Congrats to Jeter........ what amazes me when I look at the all time hit list is the # 1 guy is not in the HOF.

[jackman]

Maybe RMAF in October?

First round is on me!   

George

I hope to see you there and will be happy to buy some rounds if we can argue baseball! 

[geezer]

I see the Jeter ball episode as a tragedy. The fan that caught it was foolish, selfish, and lacking foresight, and Jeter was shown to be insensitive and lacking a full sense of the ethical.

Any financial advisor, given the chance, would have told the fan that the first rule for anyone getting a significant financial windfall is DO NOTHING before thoroughly studying his options, and their implications. Instead, the fan did the opposite: He made a snap decision!

The fan should have considered the effects of his actions on others besides himself and Jeter. He was quoted as saying he didn't need the money right now, but he was blind to the possibility that the need might be critical in the future. If he marries and has a family, the money he could have gotten, probably in the neighborhood of $200,000 I think, might turn out to be the difference between his wife and kids struggling in poverty or living comfortably. Giving the money away might mean his kids won't be able to go to college. Illness or accident might produce a critical need for funds.

Even if he really doesn't need the money now (which I doubt) he could have invested it, say in a conservative way yielding five or six percent, which would, on average, build to about two million dollars by the time he retires. If he ends up scratching along on a meager social security check in old age he will be kicking himself when he realizes what he threw away.

Even if the fan really were financially comfortable so that the money didn't mean much to him, there are more needy charities than Jeter that he could have donated to. Then let Jeter negotiate with the charity's mature and knowledgeable financial experts for the price of the ball.

Consider this: The fan's net worth is probably negative, and the value of the ball he gave away increased Jeter's net worth by something like one tenth of one percent! In light of that vast financial chasm between the two, what Jeter did was like taking candy from a baby. Jeter, with all his millions, took advantage of the star-struck, financially ignorant, immature poor fan.

In my opinion, if Jeter had the morals of a flea, he would not have allowed the fan to give him the ball without full monetary compensation.

In mitigation of Jeter's role in this episode, I realize both he and the fan are immature. The young are brash, and not known for their thoughtfulness. But Jeter still has time to do the right thing. And the fan could sell what the Yankees organization gave him, but I doubt he could get back anything close to the value of the ball.