Very few athletes reach the pinnacle of adoration from their fans and the sports nation as a whole. To do so typically requires at least a decade of personal excellence and collective glory, preferably with one team. No one man today more greatly personifies this than New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter. His career resume includes a 1996 Rookie of the Year award; Jeter wasted no time becoming the heart and soul of the Yankees. Since then, he has accumulated five Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, twelve All-Star appearances and, most importantly, five World Series championships. What has impressed me the most is that among so many legends, he will become the first Yankee to record 3000 hits. Something tangible will then set him apart from even Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, and countless others. With or without the career summary, it can be agreed that there isn’t much Derek Jeter hasn’t earned. In the past two seasons, however, his public perception has taken a negative turn. As we approach the All-Star break, one of the league’s most prestigious and now problematic players has become a story of his own. From his contract and position with the Yankees to his 2011 All-Star selection, what does Derek Jeter deserve right now?
While his reputation has exceeded his current production, many fans and analysts have gone overboard when critiquing Jeter’s situation. After a first half that rivals last year for the title of worst season ever in his career, Derek Jeter’s numbers are certainly unworthy of being selected for next week’s showcasing of the league’s best players. With that said, I have no problem with him receiving the most votes among shortstops for two simple reasons. First of all, as much as the league tries, this game does not matter. While it does determine home field advantage for the World Series, I cannot fully respect any game that benches all of the best players in the league and lets the reserve players determine the outcome of the game that alters the course of the championship series. If the game really mattered so much, Roy Halladay would end up pitching eight or nine innings, which I currently doubt. I see the All-Star game as a celebration of the players that have grown to or will soon represent this league. Because of the 3000 hit chase, this will most likely be the last time that Derek Jeter is at the forefront of baseball news for a personal accomplishment. What better direction to aim the spotlight? The second and more glaring reason is the overwhelming lack of competition among American League shortstops. In the National League, this would not have happened with Jose Reyes having an MVP season. However, telling me that Cleveland’s Asdrubal Cabrera is really being robbed would be an overstatement. He isn’t young enough to be the next rising star, and hasn’t been good enough in his career to be a well respected veteran. He is just a good player having a good year.
The Yankees issues with Jeter are much more complicated, but I will not tolerate anyone saying that this era’s pride of the Yankees is overpaid. This criticism plays into a natural trend that any athlete undergoes. The truth is that during his early years, Jeter was underpaid. He won two championships before ever making one million dollars in a season. He won five rings before making more than ten million in a season, which is still not in the conversation of league’s highest paid players. A-Rod was making about 25 million per year by the time he teamed up with Mr. November to win one. The key to breaking down athlete contracts is this: rookies make old-man veteran money, and the old guys make rookie money. This isn’t the NFL; rookie money isn’t the best thing in the world. Jeter earned his money, then he made it. Only problem is that his current production matches that of his first contract ($130,000 in 1996), so he is considered grossly overpaid. It is a system of paying one’s dues, and then the dues pay you. It will happen again once Robinson Cano finally makes the money he deserves, and by that time he will be past his prime and will likely be criticized in a similar manor.
I will stick up for Derek Jeter’s paychecks as long as I live, but his role on his team is a very different story, and needs to be seriously re-evaluated. During his time on the DL, Eduardo Nunez showed some promise as a hitter while making some shaky plays in the field. Overall, I believe that Jeter is still a marginally better player. However, we did not rely on Nunez to leadoff the game; Joe Girardi threw him into the seven spot and anything he did was considered a pleasant surprise. Jeter, on the other hand, is killing us as a leadoff man who simply does not get on base enough. In order to be used appropriately, Jeter has to be moved further down in the lineup after he reached 3000 career hits. Then one step further, after Jorge Posada presumably retires in the next year or so, make him the DH and start to groom the next shortstop. Pay the man the money he deserves, but winning is more important than any superstar’s ego.
The main aspect of this complicated situation is the intangible factor of loyalty. Derek Jeter never took fans for a ride by making every expiring contract into an auction; he never even entertained the idea of playing for another team. His leadership and clutch performances are unmatched, reviving a 22 time champion after the 1980s and making it 27. Jeter’s contract calls into question the price of such loyalty. Hank Steinbrenner determined that price to be about $56 million over four years as the captain’s last contract was finalized. I believe such a determination is more than worthy of the last we can squeeze out of the shortstop, numbuh two, Derek…Jeter.
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