There are very few people who would dare call New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter underrated.
This is, after all, a man who won Gold Gloves from 2004-06 despite posting a negative ultimate zone rating (UZR) in each of those seasons, a man who earns the third-highest salary in baseball despite having never led the league in any Triple Crown categories and a man who holds a place in the pantheon of Yankee greats despite having never won a regular season MVP award. He is, to many, actually quite overrated.
His fans counter by saying Jeter's legacy isn't about numbers or individual accolades. They'll point to his most memorable moments — the "flip play" in Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS against the Oakland Athletics, the walk-off home run in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the dive into the stands in a 2004 regular season game against the Boston Red Sox — as evidence of all the intangible qualities Jeter brings to a baseball field: his leadership, his hustle and his flair for the dramatic.
Then came Friday night, when Jeter broke a tie with Lou Gehrig atop the Yankees' all-time hits list, recording No. 2,722 of his career. To detractors, who have said that Jeter's numbers haven't ever justified his hype, and to fans, who have said that statistics shouldn't define him, this is a moment that could begin to change all those perceptions. Jeter now has more hits than anyone in the storied history of the Yankees — more than Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle.
Over the last calendar year, The Captain's remarkable statistical achievements at the plate, underappreciated by both his supporters and critics alike, have begun to enter the spotlight. It began on Sept. 16 of last season, when Jeter broke another of Gehrig's records, this time for the most hits at the old Yankee Stadium. Almost 11 months to the day later, Jeter then passed Luis Aparicio for most hits by a shortstop. Those milestones, coupled with the one he reached Friday night, have added a new dimension to Jeter's legacy, finally earning his numbers some long overdue respect.
How exactly has Jeter, the face of one of the most recognized franchises in sports and the darling of the New York media, managed to fly so far under the radar with regard to his hitting prowess? Perhaps it is because he has lulled us all to sleep with his incredible consistency. By the end of this season, which would be MVP-worthy for Jeter in any year that Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer looked mortal, Jeter will have batted at least .300 for the 11th time in his 14-year career. He also will have eclipsed both 180 hits and 100 runs scored for the 12th and 11th times, respectively.
With all these seasons of remarkably steady play, Jeter has, very quietly, approached rarefied air. With his pursuit of Gehrig's franchise hits mark now over, the countdown has begun on his next major milestone. Following the Yankees' 13-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles yesterday afternoon in the Bronx, in which he recorded the 801st multi-hit game of his career, Jeter now sits just 273 hits shy of 3,000.
Once he gets there — barring any injuries or inexplicable dropoffs in production, he'll likely do so before the 2011 All-Star break — he'll be in truly elite company. Not only will Jeter be the first player in Yankees history to join the 3,000-hit club, but he'll also be just the fourth player to reach that number with at least 1,400 games played at shortstop, joining Hall of Famers Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Robin Yount.
By then, Jeter will only be 37 years of age, meaning there would still be plenty of time for him to rapidly ascend baseball's hits list before he retires. Even if he averaged a career-low 156 hits per year over the next five seasons, Jeter would still pass former Red Sox and Cleveland Indians great Tris Speaker for fifth on the all-time list at the age of 40. It is thus entirely conceivable that Jeter could end up as one of the five greatest pure hitters in baseball history. And the statistics back that up.
