Derek Jeter: Not A Hall of Fame Player?

[Big7BenMVP]

Note: Only vote on the poll after reading through the information below. Thank you.

I've been thinking this over for a while, wondering how it's possible that Derek Jeter won't go into the Hall of Fame. After all, he does have four World Series rings to go along with being the captain of one of the greatest sports franchises to ever grace the plant and he just has that image that can get him into the Hall of Fame. So, I went and did some digging to unearth the reasons why Derek Jeter is not a Hall of Fame caliber player. Is he a great player? I'm not here to dispute whether he is or isn't a great player. I think he is a great player. One of the best all-around shortstops to come along in a while. However, does Derek Jeter belong in the Hall of Fame alongside Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and Yogi Berra? I really don't think that he does when you look at the evidence that I have gathered. On the Hall of Fame website, it states under the voting section that "voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played. A fair requirement, in my mind. Well, here goes nothing.

Record: In his illustrious thirteen career with the New York Yankees, Derek Jeter has helped the Yankees compile a record 1077-712 whenever he is in the starting lineup. That's an impressive .602 winning percentage over the course of thirteen seasons in the big leagues. That certainly qualifies him under this category. However, this category also has to do with the records that he sets on the field of play. In his thirteen year career, he has led baseball in hits just one time. To add more against him, he led the league in plate appearances that season as well. Thus, it signifies how helped he truly was in that category. It's simple common sense, the more plate appearances that you have in a season, the better chance that you have to get a hit. He's never led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, or OPS. He has led the league in runs scored just one time. He's led the league in times on base just one time. He's never even hit twenty-five home runs in a season. He's driven in one-hundred runs just once in his career. In the history of baseball at his position, he doesn't even rank in the top fifty in home runs during a season. That means that there have been fifty other instances in baseball where a shortstop has hit more home runs than him during a season. That's not a good indication. Alan Trammell did it once. Jose Valentin did it three times.Vern Stephens did it three times. Rico Petrocelli even did it twice. Rich Aurilia did it. Tony Batista has done it. Even Dale Sveum did it. But yet, Derek Jeter has never done it. The only notable record or streak that we can even attribute Derek Jeter came over the span of two seasons, from 1998 to 1999. In that span of time, he reached base safely in 57 straight games. That streak places him He's hit a home run in consecutive games just once in his thirteen year career. He does not rank in the top ten in playoff batting average, playoff on-base percentage, playoff slugging percentage, or playoff OPS. He's second in games played, two behind Bernie Williams. Six out of the top seven on the list have been Yankees at one time or another throughout their career, though. Those six are Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, David Justice, Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada, and Paul O'Neill. He has the most at-bats in postseason history. But, those same six are in the top seven again. He's scored the most runs in postseason history. Of the top seven players on the list, four played as teammates and made the playoffs many times together. They are Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, David Justice, and Tino Martinez. Derek Jeter leads in career postseason hits, followed by Bernie Williams. David Justice, Paul O'Neill, and Tino Martinez are also on the list with him. Derek Jeter leads in total bases, over Bernie Williams. David Justice, Paul O'Neill, and Tino Martinez appear on this list as well. Derek Jeter is second in career playoff doubles behind Bernie Williams. Jorge Posada, David Justice, Paul O'Neill, and Tino Martinez appear on this list with them. Derek Jeter is tied for fifth all-time in postseason home runs with Jim Thome, a player with 329 fewer postseason plate appearances than Jeter. In fact, Jeter has the most postseason plate appearances of anyone on any list, yet he's only tied for fifth in home runs. The guys ahead of him are Bernie Williams, Manny Ramirez, Reggie Jackson, and Mickey Mantle. All have had at least 185 fewer plate appearances than Jeter with the exception of Williams, who trails Jeter by just one. Derek Jeter is tied for third all-time in postseason Runs Batted In with Reggie Jackson and Manny Ramirez. He trails Bernie Williams and David Justice. He leads Chipper Jones by one. Of everyone on the list with him, only Bernie Williams and David Justice are within 75 plate appearances of Jeter. Williams, as I mentioned before, is one shy of Jeter while Justice barely squeaks on since he trails Jeter by 74 plate appearances. Derek Jeter has walked the sixth most in postseason history, trailing Chipper Jones (412 PA), Bernie Williams (544 PA), David Justice (471 PA), Jorge Posada (366 PA), and Barry Bonds (208 PA) in that department. Clearly a display of his longevity right there. He does lead all players in postseason strikeouts, mainly due to his longevity. So we'll let that go. Jeter ranks sixth all-time in postseason stolen bases. That looks great until you realize that all the other people on the list trail Jeter by at least 150 postseason plate appearances. The closet to him is Kenny Lofton, who is 153 behind Jeter. Last but least, Derek Jeter has been on base more times than any other player in playoff history. A record 206 times. He's reaching base, roughly, 38% of the time that he steps up to the plate in his postseason career. Bernie Williams is directly behind him on the all-time list and on the percentage list, at 37% of the time. To round out the top ten are Chipper Jones (39%), David Justice (34%), Jorge Posada (36%), Tino Martinez (32%), Manny Ramirez (35%), Paul O'Neill (36%), Kenny Lofton (31%), and Pete Rose (39%). As you can see, he's hovering around a lot of very good players while a guy who should be in the Hall of Fame [Rose] leads the pack and another guy who will be in the Hall of Fame [Ramirez] is in the middle of it. I think it's safe to say that Jeter's postseason exploits are as good as they are because of the fact that he's been to more games than anyone else, stepped up to the plate more than anyone else, and had a chance to do more than anyone else because of those players around him -- namely Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez, and Paul O'Neill with a little David Justice sprinkled in. In his World Series career, Jeter appears on only two top ten lists. The list for most runs, where he is tied for fifth with Joe DiMaggio, and the list for most strikeouts, where he is tied for third with Duke Snider. One list you want to be apart of and the other you want nothing to do with. I think that settles it for this section.

Playing Ability: Few players can range to their right and make a backhanded stab of a hot shot ball in the hole at shortstop. Even fewer can leap up and throw with enough force and accuracy to nail the runner at first base. Derek Jeter was one of those few. His playing ability on the field has never been questioned. At least, not his offensive ability -- for the most part. Derek Jeter has a career batting average of .317 over his thirteen year career. It puts him fifth on the active list, trailing only Ichiro Suzuki, Todd Helton, Albert Pujols, and Vladimir Guerrero. It puts him 63rd on the all-time list, a little ahead of Lew Fonseca and a little behind Joe Harris. He has an on-base percentage of .389 in his career. It puts him fifteneeth on the active list, behind guys like Lance Berkman and Brian Giles. He has a slugging percentage of .462 in his career, which puts him 64th on the active list behind Rondell White and ahead of Corey Koskie. He has an OPS+ of 123 in his career. It's good for 32nd among active players, a tad below Derrek Lee but a smidgen above Richie Sexson. Neither are going in the Hall of Fame. He's only won one Silver Slugger Award in his career and that came last season. Of his 191 career home runs, 84 have put the Yankees ahead and 22 have tied the game. That's, roughly, 55% of his career home runs. While that looks great, you have to look at his 191 career home runs for what they are. It ties him with Hal McRae for 299th on the all-time list. It puts him 154 home runs behind the all-time leader for home runs among shortstops, Cal Ripken. When you put the careers of Alan Trammell and Derek Jeter side by side, you see a lot of similarities there. Alan Trammell was the better fielder while Derek Jeter was the better offensive player. No one can argue that. Their peak seasons are almost identical. When you compare Trammell's 1987 season with Detroit to Jeter's 1999 season with the Yankees, you see the same offensive player. No real difference in production. None whatsoever. So, what makes Jeter better than Trammell when it comes to playing ability? His career average is higher by a considerable margin, yes. However, look at their average seasons if you can. They both finished second in the MVP voting during a season but never won one in their career. Jeter did win a Rookie of the Year Award while Trammell finished fourth, I'll give you that much. Trammell played in a worse offensive environment yet produced good numbers. Trammell won four Gold Gloves to Jeter's three, which I still feel were unearned since they happened after Omar Vizquel left the league and Alex Rodriguez moved to a different position. Even then, Jeter was outplayed in each of his Gold Glove seasons by another player. But that's neither here nor there. Trammell was an All-Star six times in his career while Jeter has gone eight times. They each have a World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Trammell won three Silver Slugger's to Jeter's one. Each never led the league in batting average. Trammell had the misfortune of only playing in two postseasons during his career, but he was a career .333 hitter which bests Jeter's .314 mark. Jeter, like Trammell, never went 30-30 in a season. Only two shortstops have, Alex Rodriguez and Barry Larkin. Derek Jeter is today what Alan Trammell was back then. A very very good player on a great team. He's basically Nomar Garciaparra, with rings. And that's nothing to be ashamed about. He's just never been the best player at his position for any season during his career.

Integrity: So, how does Jeter rank in the adherence to moral and ethlical principles? Anyone remember back in 2002 when George Steinbrenner was upset because Jeter partied too much? Steinbrenner went even as far to say that Jeter wasn't focused on the field and wasn't ready to be the Yankees captain. Steinbrenner was upset because he repeatedly violated Joe Torre's curfew. George even went as far as to say that Jeter's errors were caused because of his lifestyle off of the field. We all know that George Steinbrenner can be a real hard head, but let's be honest here. How many times did Steinbrenner in the past get upset over a player's lifestyle? The only time I can remember was with Reggie Jackson. So he doesn't do it often, that's for sure. Then there was the supposed story about how he gave Jessica Alba herpes while they were dating. So, there is that little piece of information to deal with. I'm not saying Jeter is a thug and a moron. He has had his share of problems like this, though. I won't hold it against him, however. It just needed to be noted.

Sportsmanship: One thing that no one will question about Jeter is his sportsmanship. He's a fiery competitor on the field while playing the game with the respect and dignity of many before him. He embodies what a player should be when talking about sportsmanship. If more players could have his sportsmanship and character while playing the game, the game would be better for now and in the future. That much is sure. He never tries to hurt anyone on the field. He never shows up his teammates or opponents on the field. He always plays the game the right way. That's all you can ever ask from any player who steps foot on the field of play.

Character: I question his character because of one simple reason. He supported Jason Giambi during the entire BALCO mess that was surrounding the Yankees clubhouse. But he did nothing to support Alex Rodriguez when Rodriguez was going through a tough time in the Bronx. It's like Jim Caple wrote in his Page 2 column a while back: "No one is saying Jeter has to like A-Rod, but geez, even Tanner came to Timmy Lupus' defense in "The Bad News Bears." I totally agree with him. Then, of course, there is the whole "Freddies" incident that some people seem to have forgotten even though it occurred just one year ago. Of course, I'm just kidding about that. Don't worry folks, I won't hold it against him for taking Flintstones vitamins. He has been romantically linked with Mariah Carey, Lara Dutta, Jordana Brewster, Scarlett Johannson, Gabrielle Union, Vaness Minillo, Jessica Biel, and Jessica Alba. He's been around the block more times than a Cadillac, it appears like.

Contributions to the Team: This is where the law is laid. He is the third Yankees shortstop to be named the captain in his career, and the eleventh overall. George Steinbrenner even went as far as to say that he and Jeter believe that there is no substitute for victory and that "to him and to me, it's second only to breathing". Since he was named the captain on June 3rd of 2003, the Yankees have failed to win a World Series and have won just one American League pennant. They've only won three postseason series since his inclusion as Yankees captain. Over that time, he's batting .314 in the postseason while batting .318 during the regular season. Purely the same player. They call him "clutch". But his career is made off of a few highlights. Most notably the Flip, the Dive, and the Maier home run. As for his contributions to the team, what were they? Alex Rodriguez came to the Yankees and had his worst season. Randy Johnson was horrible with them. I'm not saying Jeter is to blame for that, but where are the players who were improved because he was on the team? I'm not seeing them. Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Paul O'Neill, and Tino Martinez were all great players by themselves. Jeter didn't really help them. And once two of those four -- O'Neill and Martinez -- left, the Yankees were left to rot. When Bernie Williams' play started to decline, so did the Yankees postseason chances. The Yankees payroll helps that team more than Jeter. It helps turn players like Raul Mondesi into Gary Sheffield while turning a player like Aaron Boone into Alex Rodriguez. Not to mention that the Yankees have over 200 home runs every season to go along with a Cy Young candidate and arguably the best closer in the history of baseball. The Yankees didn't need a captain during the time of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, and they seemed to just do fine without one. He didn't even move to third base when Alex Rodriguez came to the Bronx despite the fact that Rodriguez was the reigning American League Most Valuable Player and a Gold Glove shortstop. Jeter would have been great at third base due to his strong arm and his ability to track pop ups with uncanny poise. That would have improved the team more than staying at shortstop and leaving Rodriguez at third base to rot his career away on the defensive side of things. Of his 2310 career hits, only six have ended the game. Not an impressive amount. Garret Anderson has 2154 hits, 156 fewer than Jeter, yet he has seven game ending hits. Nomar Garciaparra has 1648 career hits, 662 fewer than Jeter, yet he has eight game ending hits. Shows how on par with everyone else he truly is. Not great contributions to the team, in my mind.

Player Comparison: His offense is slightly better than Alan Trammell's. His defense is infinitely worse than Alan Trammell's. Yet, Trammell is not in the Hall of Fame despite having some of the same career credentials as Derek Jeter. Yet, people put Jeter in the Hall of Fame without batting an eye at it. Heck, Andre Dawson is a member of the 300-300 club and 300-300-2000 club, as is Steve Finley, Barry Bonds, and Willie Mays. Dawson won the 1977 Rookie of the Year Award along with the 1987 Most Valuable Player Award. He won eight Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger Awards. Yet, he is not in the Hall of Fame and Derek Jeter will be in there without much problem. Why? It's because of those four World Series rings, his marketable face, and the team that he plays for. No one wants to put Andre Dawson in there because he played on such a bad team. But Jeter will go in because of who his teammates were and a few clutch plays. I ask you, is it fair? I don't think it is. I'll even go as far as to say that until Alan Trammell and Andre Dawson both get into the Hall of Fame, we are not allowed to put Derek Jeter in there. I view him on the same plane as Nomar Garciaparra, as a player. Would any of you put Nomar Garciaparra into the Hall of Fame? I think not. They both won a Sliver Slugger Award, a Rookie of the Year Award, and have finished second in Most Valuable Player voting during a season. Garciaparra is a six time All-Star and has led his respective league in batting average on two seperate occasions, something Jeter has never done once. What are the only things that Garciappara lacks when comparing him to Jeter? He lacks the three Gold Gloves despite being just as good and even better as Jeter in the field. He also lacks a World Series ring. Not entirely his fault. After all, he did his part in the playoffs by batting .314/.378/.600 throughout his career. Hmmm, surprisingly similar to Jeter's .314/.384/.479 line in his postseason career. Too bad he'll never get the credit that Jeter does because of his injuries and other things, like rings.

Conclusion: So what can you say about a guy who has played more postseason games than Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays did combined? Well, you simply tip your cap and acknowledge that while he was a great player in the league, he was never the best at his position at any moment in time. He never rewrote a record for his position. He never was more than a guy who was simply on a great team at a great time. There's really no other way around it when you think about it. People talk about how "clutch" he is but fail to realize that his regular season numbers [.317/.389/.462] are actually better than his postseason numbers [.314/.384/.479]. Sure, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2000 World Series. He's also batted .400 or better in eight postseason series. He's also batted .250 or worse in eight postseason series. When you read Bill James' book, The Fielding Bible, he actually makes a case for Jeter being the worst defensive shortstop of all-time. Saying: "Giving [Jeter] every possible break on the unknowns, he is still going to emerge as a below average defensive shortstop." Another analysis done by Baseball Info Solutions' said "[Jeter] was probably the least effective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position." It's definitely something to think about. All in all, I respect Derek Jeter and think he was a great player. I'm not disputing that. I'm just here to dispute his Hall of Fame credentials. If rings were enough to get you into the Baseball Hall of Fame then guys like Johnny Podres, Bobby Brown, and Bill Skowron should be in the Hall of Fame. It'd only be fair, wouldn't it? Like I said earlier, Jeter is not Hall of Fame caliber because he was never the best at his position or set any records for any of us to just be amazed at. He barely led the league in anything during his career except for World Series rings. Last time I checked, that wasn't good enough to get you into the Hall of Fame because of the three guys I mentioned a ways up in this section. I respect Derek Jeter. I just can't respect people blindly putting him into the Hall of Fame when he does not deserve it. Guys like Trammell and Dawson deserve it before him. Putting Derek Jeter into the Hall of Fame would make us have to put Nomar Garciaparra into the Hall of Fame. And no one wants to do that.

I hope you all enjoyed this. I put a lot of time and research into this. Enjoy. Any feedback is welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.
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[The-Beast]

I don't put him in yet, in 4-5 more years when he gets his 3000th hit, he'll probably deserve to be in based on his lifetime BA.
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Choker - a person who is unable to perform effectively because of nervous tension or agitation; Nate Kaeding 0-3 meaningful Playoff Field Goals.

[SanFran49ers]

Nice job man, good write up. I actually agree with you that Jeter doesnt belong in the Hall. However, I cannot see how he wont get in, especially if he gets 3000 hits. There would probably be public riots in New York if Jeter didnt make the Hall.
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[ConvenientTruth]

I honestly don't know what having an STD does to a potential Hall of Famer's resume, but otherwise, perfectly written. He'll get in, but he's not sure-fire.
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Last edited by ConvenientTruth on Thu December 21, 2012 10:37 am; edited 2 times in total

[pollino14]

Did Derek Jeter beat you up as a kid or somethin because you sure bash im a lot


The guy is gonna hit above .300 for his career, hes gonna have over 3,000 hits he has 2 gold gloves and he has multiple World Series rings. He is a sure fire hall of famer.

I still dont blame him for the A-Rod thing last year. A-Rod is a big boy he doesnt need Jeter or anyone else to stand up for him. What do you want Jeter to do tell him it's alright?

Jeter will be considered one of the best SS of all time if not the best.

Great post Big7Ben
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Adopt-A-Packer: Jermichael Finley

[e16bball]

Great post, Ben.

I don't necessarily agree with EVERYTHING you said (for example, I think Jeter's offense will better Trammell's by leaps and bounds when all is said and done) but it was exceptionally thoughtful and thought-provoking.

In the end, I think Jeter definitely WILL BE a Hall of Famer, but I also think you're right in saying that if he had a shorter and less meaningful career, it's very possible that his statistics wouldn't warrant enshrinement.
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Another Blknite01 masterpiece.

[DILinator]

I agree 100% with what you said BigBen, and applaud you for the research you did to bring statistical validity to something that I've felt for a long time. However, we all know he'll get into the Hall, if for no other reason than he plays for the Yankees, and is "the most amazing player in the history of the game", if the media is to be believed.

[Big7BenMVP]

[pollino14]

[quietjets]

It is really hard to compare modern era player with players in older saga.

Pitching in today is a lot of better than anicent era. Better breakball, changeup, stamina and energy conservation.

Not all HOFers have lead at least category in offense. Jeter have been around top 5 in several offense category. Did you forget to include Phil Rizzuto? or you just exempt him to make Jeter look bad?

Rizzuto only beat Jeter with 7 rings. one MVP and true "gold glove" SS. Too bad that he retired right before Gold Glove Award began its existence.


Compare those two Yankee SS.

Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP

Rizzuto's 1950 MVP.

1950 32 NYY AL 155 617 125 200 36 7 7 66 12 8 92 39 .324 .418 .439 122 271 19 7 6

Jeter's 2 MVP runner up (3rd and 2nd)

1998 24 NYY AL 149 626 127 203 25 8 19 84 30 6 57 119 .324 .384 .481 126 301 3 3 1 5 13

2006 32 NYY AL 154 623 118 214 39 3 14 97 34 5 69 102 .343 .417 .483 138 301 7 4 4 12 13

Just because Jeter never won MVP does not mean he is not qualified for HOF.


Jeter did support Arod, yes. However, it is Arod who likes to acknowledge people that he can handle this all by himself.. You know his ego problem.

Giambi, on other hand, is a family man who suffered many different problems such as steriods, slumps. illness, injuries and more.

Jeter shows us that he does not jump to conclusions quickly and he keeps his baseball respect intact which he does not play it in a politicial way. Remember Knoblauch? he was angry that Jeter came to him and tried to give him a good prep. He cussed at Jeter but Jeter did not make it any worse by leaving him alone. Ruben Rivera stole Jeter's glove and sold it. Jeter did not say that much against him but showed his sympathy and no hard feeling toward Rivera. The team vote had Rivera kicked off the team. If you point the finger at Jeter then what about Mo? his very own cousin.

Remember Munson? Mattingly? Whilst being captain, they badmouthed against team and FO in public... Jeter did what? nothing. BAM! he is not truly captain which is ridiculous. Team captain is not a politicial position. It is liasion job.


If you are angry at Jeter for sleeping around with beautiful celebrities then why should you not be mad at Babe Ruth for being ill-manner drunk bastard that cost few urgent games. Personally, I prefer sleeping around beautiful women to being drunk and creating some thunderous for media to record.


Jeter still has few years left on him so if he continues to be top 5 in few important offense categories then he will be a HOFer because we cant ignore his charimsa and role model as his good statistic to back him.
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[quietjets]

Ah.... leaping and throwing in the hole is hard thing to be done than backstop and throw. I can do backstop and throw because I use the gravity energy or balancing anchor to bolster the strength to my arm. When I jump I lost everything.

In Jeter's case, he must be having very strong arm and stomach/thigh to control the throw.
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[jonyankee1nyj]

I'll be honest, you made some good points, but some of your info is pretty much embellished in its severity against him. (I mean really STD's, supporting Giambi and being indiffrent with AROD when its not his problem and you really have no idea what the deal was.)

Saying that Barry Larkin a guy who never had 200 hits in one season and life time average is going to be 25 points lower then Jeter's is going overboard as well, (only thing he was better at was SB's)

Campaneras never hit .300 in a season and his career life average is .250. Like Larkin he was only better at stealing bases, his sugging is a .1 less then Jeter's.

It was a good read, but picking players and saying they are much better then Jeter when they aren't is going overboard.
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Soaring Jets Wall of Honor Member

[ezra]

In this article you make a big deal how he has never won a batting title. However he has been top 5 in BA 4 times and has been second twice. So yes he has never won a batting title but he has gotten very close quite a few times.
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Mario Manningham will become as good as Braylon Edwards was during his senior year at Michigan! I guarantee it!

[oompalumpa34567]

Excellent read, you made a lot of interesting points. I think he is a hof'er though, and one thing you seem to be doing is pointing out where certain players have certain stats in better categories - better OBP in the playoffs or whatever, but how many of those guys also have .300 lifetime average, 2 gold gloves, etc. He may not be the best in any one category, but his overall game (with the exception of power hitting, I'll grant you that) has been very strong and consistent his entire career.

[BirdsFan06050]

Great Post and points, but even if he may not deserve to be in it, I think he'll get in. Not first ballot.
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