Derek Jeter is overrated

Offense: How would you define the word 'consistent'? Is it playing on a similar level day in and day out? I can assure you that Jeter is not consistent based on this definition. No player is. Almost every player has good games and bad games, along with hot streaks and cold streaks, even Jeter. Every player goes through games where they go 4-5 and then the next they go 0-4. It happens, even to Jeter. Or do you mean playing on the same level year after year with little fluctuation in statistical measurements? Lets see. So far in 2010, Jeter has a .345 wOBA through 58 games. Not very Jeter-like. In 2009, he had one of the best years of his career, boasting a .390 wOBA. And in 2008, he had arguably the worst season of his career offensively, with only a .343 wOBA [1]. This isn't very 'consistent'. Clutch: I understand what Con means when saying "A good 'clutch player' is one who does not let the burden of a big situation distract them or effect them negatively." Don't forget though, clutch situations occur all throughout the season, not just during the post season. Most people believe that clutch hitters rise up to get the big hit in clutch situations and that non clutch hitters usually perform much worse than they usually do in those situations. The people that argue against this say that no matter how good a player may be in the clutch, in a large number of plate appearances, their clutch numbers will look remarkably similar to their regular numbers. Which is just the case for Jeter. In his career he has a .375 wOBA, in high leverage situations, he has a .379 wOBA [2]. You may try to say that his high leverage wOBA is higher, so therefore he must be clutch. But keep in mind that he only has 454 plate appearance in these situations. Less than a seasons worth compared to 10086 career plate appearances. So those .004 points are not statistically significant. That is the point to be made here, that a player does not perform better or worse in these situations compared to their overall career numbers. Con brought up how Arod has performed in the post season compared to Jeter, primarily, how Arod has struggled. This is true, but he only has a handful of post season plate appearances. Lets examine how Arod has done in higher leverage situations just like we did Jeter. Throughout his career he has a .411 wOBA. In higher leverage situations, in which he has 506 plate appearances, he has a .417 wOBA [3]. He hasn't perfomed any worse than he has in his career according to wOBA. That is the point I am trying to make. That players perform similarly during clutch situations as they do during their career. In order for Jeter to be considered clutch, he would have to have performed much better during these higher leveraged situations compared to his overall numbers. But he hasn't. I believe I've proven all there is to be proven here, Jeter isn't any more clutch than any other player, even Alex Rodriguez. That being said, he isn't any less clutch either. Defense: I don't understand Con's point right here. If Jeter actually had good range, he would be able to make these "spectacular" plays look like what they are: average plays. He might even then be able to make real spectacular plays like other good shortstops do. I don't see at all how having "mental toughness and willingness to go the extra mile" makes up for lacking physique on the diamond. "The bottom line is that he gets the job done." The point is that he DOESN'T get the job done. He has repeatedly ranked near the bottom of all shortstops defensively, year after year. If he actually had good range, he would be able to save more balls in play from being base hits, thus saving runs from scoring for the opposing team and helping his team win more ballgames. That's all it comes down to. Let me say that after examining the play, I admit that it was a tough play and that at the speed he was running it would have hard to pull up in time. And yes, I have played baseball, have you? But what does this really prove in your argument? Did Jeter really deserve the Gold Glove in 2004 based solely on this play? No, absolutely not. The only reason this play is remembered as much as it is, is because he plays in New York and because of the bloody face. Lets not forget, in the 2004 ALCS, Juan Uribe made an equally spectacular play, he neither plays in New York or cut up his face. As far as who did deserve the Gold Glove that year, it's Julio Lugo. He was worth 12.2 runs with the glove in 2004, while Jeter ranked seventh in the AL with -0.7. Meaning he cost his team almost one run with the glove that year [4]. As far as providing proof of Jeter costing the Yankees 100 runs over his career with the glove, this number is determined based on statistical models that apply a certain fraction of runs to every ball put into play [5]. I mentioned two of these models a few rounds back - Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved. The number of runs he's cost his team over his career, 106.6, is found near the bottom of the page under 'Fielding'. The Team: I never stated that Jeter has nothing to do with the team's success. However, most people try to make the argument that he is not overrated because he has five championship rings. This is illogical because a team winning a championship cannot be attributed to one player, as there are 25 players on the team until September. Jeter has been worth wins for his team, 70 of them actually, over his career. I said that he has cost his team 10 wins WITH HIS GLOVE. There is no flaw in logic presented in my argument, Con just knows very little about Sabermetrics in order to interpret what my argument is primarily about. The rest of their paragraph is about intangibles, and of course, intangibles cannot be measured in any way. If you're going to say these intangibles help the team in at all, it's going to have to be proven in some way or another. Considering Arod was worth more runs with his glove while he played shortstop for the Mariners and Rangers than Jeter was for the Yankees, it is obvious that he would have saved more runs at SS than Jeter would after he came to the Yankees. This means he would have helped win more games, too. Also, one of Jeter's strong points is a strong arm, his weak points include bad range. He would have adjusted just fine. Again more immeasurable intagibles. Would all of that have mattered if he was a bad baseball player? The media and fans rate players primarily by their play on the field. There is no denying this. Conclusion: How is his reputation deserved and not exaggerated? The media has given him the names 'Mr. November' and 'Captain Clutch'. They exaggerate his fielding abilities which is why he has as many gold gloves as he does. He is a good player, but he is not as good a player as they media says he is, and they've been saying it since the late 90's. Sources: [1] http://www.fangraphs.com... [2] http://www.fangraphs.com... [3] http://www.fangraphs.com... [4] http://www.fangraphs.com... [5] http://www.fangraphs.com...