The Captain's Blog

Derek Jeter’s farewell tour has been a victory lap for the Hall of Fame shortstop. In cities throughout baseball, fans have cast aside their loyalties to shower appreciation on the Yankees’ Captain, who spent most of the last 20 years helping the Bronx Bombers repeatedly beat their favorite teams.

Derek Jeter’s 20-year reign of “selfishness” is coming to an end.

Although the fan response has been resounding, Jeter’s final go-round hasn’t been without bumps. The 40-year old has suffered through the worst season of his career, and that has provided an opportunity for the short stop’s embittered critics to take one last shot at the legend as he makes his way out the door. While the vast majority of baseball fans have been eager to slap him on the back, this smaller group of Jeterphobes has opted for a push, with a little dirt kicked in his direction for good measure.

The typical contrarian Jeter article usually acknowledges, albeit begrudgingly, the short stop’s historic career, but it is careful to couch that praise in standard criticism of his defense. Conferring infallibility to defensive metrics that are inherently flawed, the critics proclaim that Jeter is the worst defensive short stop of all time, as if being extra emphatic will change the minds of those who have watched him play for 20 years. Putting aside the reliability of these metrics, and the validity of the resultant exaggerated claims, these articles never seem to mention that, despite being heavily penalized for his defense, Jeter still has one of the highest WAR ratings among short stops. If the truth about Jeter’s defense is somewhere in the middle, who knows how high he’d rank? Maybe, he’s actually underrated?

The debate over Jeter’s defense has become so clichéd, the discourse is more about the person taking a position than the merits of their argument (present company included). And, perhaps because this pointed criticism of Jeter has begun to fall on deaf ears, his detractors have latched onto something new. Now, not only has Jeter been an abominable defender all these years, the critics proclaim, but his farewell tour has proven him to be selfish.

Although others have made similar veiled suggestions, Howard Megdal doesn’t mince words. In his latest article at SBNation, Megdal calls into question “the basic truth…that Derek Jeter is a selfless leader who will do whatever it takes to win”. The crux of Megdal’s argument is Jeter should have voluntarily and publically demoted himself in the lineup and/or limited his playing time. His failure to do this, the author states, is evidence of Jeter’s selfishness.

Megdal’s argument is evocative, and, more than a few frustrated Yankee fans may agree with the premise. However, it fails on several levels. For starters, how does Megdal know what Derek Jeter and Joe Girardi have privately discussed? Maybe Jeter did let his manager know that he would be ok with a lineup demotion, but Girardi resisted? Should Jeter have disregarded his manager’s opinion and forced his hand by making a proclamation to the media. Would that really be selfless?

Putting aside what Jeter and Girardi may have discussed in private, is the case for demoting or benching Jeter really as strong as some of his critics imply? Entering August, Jeter’s OBP of .330 was fourth highest on the team among qualified hitters, and the three who rated higher were positioned around him in the order. Was slotting Jeter in the two-hole really a concession to his status, or the byproduct of a thin lineup without better options?

In August, Jeter’s offense plummeted. So did Mark Teixeira’s, Stephen Drew’s, and Brett Gardner’s. It would be one thing if Jeter stuck out like a sore thumb, but the fact is the short stop’s offensive struggles mirrored the lineup surrounding him. Should others have also made public demands to be demoted? Or, is only Jeter required to fall on his sword?

Superstar athletes have egos. They believe in their ability. When those on the outside are ready to waive the white flag, the very best dig deeper. If Jeter did not, in fact, volunteer for a demotion, should he really be criticized for believing in himself? Is it so unfathomable that the future Hall of Famer thinks he gives the Yankees a better chance to win than Stephen Drew and Brendan Ryan (who each have an OPS+ that is a fraction of Jeter’s)? If Girardi, or the Yankees as an organization, wanted to demote Jeter, it would be incumbent upon the Captain to acquiesce. That’s what Don Mattingly did when it came time to pass the baton to Paul O’Neill. However, there’s no evidence to suggest Jeter has rebuffed that request. Putting the onus on the future Hall of Famer to swallow his pride and subjugate his self-belief is ignorant of all context.

Megdal tries to paint Jeter as selfish by comparing his situation to the demise of other all-time greats, and, in doing so, makes his argument look even more contrived. Echoing the words of Lou Gehrig, the author calls out Jeter for not making a similar concession. Of course, Gehrig’s body was literally eroding and he knew he had been diagnosed with a serious disease. Drawing such a comparison is not only inaccurate, but distasteful. Megdal also points out the Joe DiMaggio decided to retire instead of allow his skills to erode, but he leaves out the fact that Joltin’ Joe resisted a move to first base in 1950 and played center field in 1951 despite the presence of the younger, more athletic Mickey Mantle. In many ways, the end of DiMaggio’s career has mirrored Jeter’s, which is appropriate because both players have carried themselves in a similar manner. Has that included some ego and selfishness? Of course, but for their entire careers, those traits were incredibly beneficial to the team.

Is Derek Jeter Excessively Promoted As Being Selfless…

By criticizing Jeter for not being “selfless”, Megdal and others have created a straw man. After all, has the short stop every professed to being so altruistic? And, is that really a trait many have ascribed to him? To prove his assertion that Jeter has been undeservedly lauded for selflessness, Megdal cites the 1,010,000 Google hits that registered for his search of “selfless Derek Jeter”. Well, my Google search only turned up 25. Without using quotes, the search expands to 32,700. Sure, there are several articles/blog posts referring to Jeter as selfless, but the results also include references to Christian Lopez, the man who “selflessly” handed over Jeter’s 3,000th hit, and criticisms similar to Megdal’s. Besides, since when is a Google search a sound basis for making a claim? Using that as a barometer, Alex Rodriguez is baseball’s Mother Theresa.

…or Is Arod the Real Recipient of that Honor?

Let’s assume his critics aren’t once again making an exaggerated claim. Would it be such a crime if Jeter was overly lauded for selflessness? Part of having heroes is assigning to them qualities that often exceed the boundaries of mere mortals. Is that really such an irritant, as those who think like Megdal often claim? Or, is Jeter, as the embodiment of the Yankees for 20 years, simply a lightning rod for those who hate the team so much, they can’t muster even begrudging respect?

Hating the Yankees has been a cottage industry for over a century now, and that’s a good thing. It shows a healthy interest in the game and is evidence of the passion many fans feel toward its history. Besides, baseball is meant to be fun, so what harm is there if some fans vicariously get enjoyment from the demise of Jeter and the Yankees? If fans want to root against the Bronx Bombers, and Jeter by proxy, they should jeer to their heart’s content. However, hiding behind a veil of statistical objectivity and contrived straw man arguments doesn’t legitimize those claims any more than Yankee fans who reflexively beat their chests.