Is Derek Jeter the Best Offensive Shortstop Ever?

To the surprise of most baseball fans, on Wednesday February 12, 2014, Derek Jeter officially announced that he would be retiring after this season.

I’ve been a Met fan and a Yankee hater for almost my entire life. So of course, in hating the Yankees, I also always tried my hardest to hate on Derek Jeter, the face of their franchise. I won’t lie. It’s been hard.

He’s classy, modest, hard-working, and an all-around dreamboat. If anyone deserves the success they’ve had over the years, it’s this guy. When he announced his retirement, it felt weird. I couldn’t help but get a little melancholy when the news broke. Jeter’s been the biggest name in baseball in my hometown since I was about six years old. I grew up with him. It’s going to be strange watching a Yankee game without seeing his name in the lineup.

This will be my second ever article for numberfire, but this one actually started as more or less of a direct response to a friend. We were arguing over who’s been the best Yankee since 1995, and I went with Mariano Rivera. He went with Derek Jeter. I tried to prove my point by showing just how dominant Mariano was compared to the all-time best closers. He brought up Jeter’s intangibles and his importance to the team. The debate went nowhere. Eventually, he conceded and said, “Fine, Mariano was more dominant at his position, but Derek Jeter is without a doubt the best shortstop of all time.”

This is quite a lofty claim, and as the resident Jeter-hater among my friends, one I take tremendous offense to. He knows my position all too well, so when he was to say something like this, he knew he better be right or I’d give him hell.

I always thought that Derek Jeter was overrated, that most of his fame comes outside statistics and raw natural talent. I never thought of him as being close to the best shortstop of all time, but I also could be wrong. So, I must remain objective and look purely at raw statistics to find truth.

Jeter's Career Metrics

After saying that Jeter was the best shortstop of all time, I let out a very loud and obnoxious groan, as my buddy countered with, “Oh yeah, well, who is better?” Half-jokingly, I replied, “Rey Ordonez.” This made him pause, laugh, and once again change his original assertion. He responded, “Correction, Derek Jeter is the best offensive shortstop of all time.”

He admitted that, in spite of his five gold-glove awards, Jeter is weaker defensively than most Hall of Fame shortstops. He has poor mobility to his left and by the Total Zone and Defensive Runs Saved estimates, Jeter has accounted for -234 runs defensively. This makes him slip to eighth all-time in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) among shortstops who exclusively played the position.

By changing his argument once again, my point becomes easier to prove. While it does take out his defensive inadequacies, it also takes out the “intangibles” that so many people like to attribute to Jeter. And lucky for us, being a class-act has no bearing on a player’s WAR.

What I'm trying to get at with this article is, how good is Jeter compared to the all-time great offensive Shortstops? Could he really be the best?

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
10,614	1,876	3,316	256	1,261	348	.312	.381	.446

And, to make things a little easier, let’s spread that out over a full season (550 AB).

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	97	172	13	65	18	.312	.381	.446

Yeah, make no mistake about it, Jeter is clearly a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and a great ball player. But best offensive shortstop of all time? I think we’ll need to do a bit more research first.

Comparisons

I’ll be honest, when I first started doing my research, I was surprised. Jeter matches up a lot better against the all-time greats then I thought. He’s ranked 2nd among all-time shortstops in hits, 3rd among the position in home runs, 18th in stolen bases, 7th in runs batted in, and 1st in runs scored. Let’s see how he compares to some of the other all-time greats and current category leaders.

Barry Larkin (9-Time Silver Slugger; 13-Time All-Star

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
7,937	1,329	2,340	198	960	379	.295	.371	0.444

Robin Yount (4th Among Shortstops in Hits)

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
11,008	1,632	2,340	198	960	379	.295	.371	0.444

Miguel Tejada (2nd Among shortstops in Home Runs)

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
8,434	1,230	2,407	307	1,302	85	.285	.336	0.456

George Davis (4th Among Shortstops in WAR)

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
10,178	1,545	2,665	73	1,440	619	.295	.362	0.405

Cal Ripken Jr. (1st Among Exclusive Shortstops in Home Runs)

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
11,551	1,647	3,184	431	1,695	36	.276	.340	0.447

As far as all-time totals go, Jeter is right up there with the best. Larkin only beats Jeter in SB, and just by 31.

Yount gets beat in every category except RBIs (-145). And note, unlike Jeter, Yount didn’t stay at the shortstop position his entire career, as he had permanently moved to the outfield by the time he was 30.

Tejada beats Jeter in HR (+51), RBI (+41), and SLG (+.010), but gets destroyed in everything else. Tejada, while still active, also hasn’t played the shortstop position regularly in several years.

In only 436 extra at bats, Jeter beats Davis by a good margin in every category but RBI (-179) and SB (-271).

Ripken has Jeter beat in HR by 175, RBI by 434, and SLG by .001. However, the rest of Jeter’s categories pretty much negate the deficit in home runs (+229R, +312 SB, +.036 AVG, and +.041 OBP). Although, admittedly, Ripken makes the best case of this lot, I still think Jeter is better.

Let’s see if we can’t find some more worthy statistical adversaries.

Vaughan All-Time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
6,622	1,175	2,103	96	926	118	.318	.406	0.453

Although he played in a much different era (1932-1948), Arky put up some crazy numbers. As far as career stats go, Jeter wrecks him, but then again Jeter does have about 3,500 at-bats on Arky. So let’s see how they match up if we go off of an average season for both (rounding up at .5 for each category).

Jeter Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	97	172	13	65	18	.312	.381	0.446

Vaughan Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	98	175	8	77	10	.318	.406	0.453

Runs scored is a wash, but Jeter has five more homers and eight more steals. Arky averages three more hits than Jeter, scores on average 12 more RBIs, and beats Jeter in average by .006, OBP by .025, and SLG by .007. So this contest is basically a wash. Jeter takes two very important categories in HR and SB, but Arky beats him in RBIs, AVG, and, by a wider margin, OBP. I might give the slight edge to Arky on this one, but it's very close.

Next up is another shortstop who definitely would have given Jeter a run for his money had he played in nearly as many games: Nomar Garciaparra.

Garciaparra All-Time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
5,586	927	1,747	229	936	95	.313	.361	0.521

Jeter All-Time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
10,614	1,876	3,316	256	1,261	348	.312	.381	0.446

Average season for Garciaparra:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	91	172	23	92	9	.313	.361	0.521

Average season for Jeter:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	97	172	13	65	18	.312	.381	0.446

In an average season, Jeter and Garciaparra would have recorded the same amount of hits, while Jeter would have had 6 more Runs, 9 more SB, and +.020 OBP. Nomar would have had 10 more HR, 27 more RBIs, .001 in AVG, and .075 in SLG.

It would have been amazing to see what Nomar could have done had he stayed healthy. His first full season he had 30 HR, 22 SB, and hit .306 AVG. The next season he had 35 HR and hit .323. The season after that he had 27 HR and batted an astounding .357. In his prime, Nomar was one of the best. Again, this one looks almost too close to call.

It depends on if you’d prefer a shortstop with a better OBP who can get you steals, or one with some power who can get you more RBIs. Nomar gets +10 in HR, but Jeter gets +9 in SB. Jeter gets +6 in runs, but Nomar gets +27 in RBI. Who would I rather have in their prime for a guaranteed 550 at bats? Nomar. Who is the better offensive shortstop all-time? Probably the guy who’s played in almost twice as many games. Longevity and consistency need to be factored in here.

Next brings us to the person I think is the actual best offensive shortstop of all-time: Honus Wagner (you know, the guy from the baseball card).

Honus Wagner (1897-1917) is the leading shortstop in WAR, stolen bases, average, hits, doubles, triples, and among exclusive shortstops, first all-time in RBIs.

Wagner All-time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
10,430	1,736	3,415	101	1,732	722	.327	.391	0.466

Jeter All-Time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
10,614	1,876	3,316	256	1,261	348	.312	.381	0.446

So, Jeter takes Honus in runs by 140 and HR by 155. But that's it. Wagner beats Jeter in hits (99), RBI (471), SB (374), AVG (.015), OBP (.010), and SLG (.020). Jeter also has 184 at-bats on Honus, so let’s take a look at a sample season and see what happens.

Wagner Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	92	180	5	91	38	.327	.391	0.466

Jeter Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	97	172	13	65	18	.312	.381	0.446

In an average season, Jeter would record about five more runs and get eight more dingers than Wagner. However, Wagner would get eight more hits, 26 more RBIs, 20 more SBs, and beat out Jeter by .015 in AVG, .010 in OBP, and .020 in SLG. Again, it’s a bit of a close call, but I’d have to go with Wagner. The six runs Jeter would produce is negligible compared to the 25 RBIs Honus would produce, and +20 SB can be incredibly valuable, as would a near .400 OBP.

But again, in Jeter’s defense, Wagner played ball during the Taft administration. So while I do think that Nomar and Vaughan were better offensive shortstops during their prime, it’s not Jeter’s fault they haven’t played as many games as he had. And if the only guy who is statistically better than Jeter is Honus Wagner, a guy who retired from baseball in 1917, than what does that say about Derek?

Well it means that, I guess, one could legitimately say that, at least, Jeter is the best offensive shortstop since 1917.

Ouch. Wow. It really hurt me to write that. But then again, the numbers don't lie. Jeter really is one of the best offensive shortstops to have ever played the game. Way better than I ever gave him credit for. The best? Well, he’s definitely in the top five, and either the best or second-best if you don’t discredit Wagner’s stats because he played the game 100 years prior.

It's not really so surprising it took so long to find an offensive shortstop who could go toe to toe with Honus Wagner. Prior to the A-Rod, Nomar, Tejada, and Jeter era, shortstops have always been known as small scrappy guys who played great defense. You could tolerate their meager five home runs a year and their .250 average because their glove made up for it. But then, in the late 1990s, all of a sudden you had shortstops hitting above .300 and and more than 30 dingers. This trend has only continued since Jeter's rookie year.

Look at some of the new, younger shortstops entering the fold: Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, and Troy Tulowitzki. At the time of this article, Jeter is four months away from turning 40. Guys like Ramirez (30), Reyes (30), and Tulowitzki (29) are putting up comparable numbers, and could end up giving Jeter a run for his money. Let’s take a look.

Ramirez Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	99	166	23	76	32	.302	.373	0.506

Tulowitzki Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	92	162	26	93	9	.295	.367	0.509

Reyes Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	88	160	10	52	43	.292	.342	0.439

Jeter Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	97	172	13	65	18	.312	.381	0.446

Even if Jeter is one of the top three best offensive shortstops of all-time, who knows how long he’ll be there. Any one of these guys could end up with better stats by the time they retire. Hanley Ramirez, in my opinion, is the best of the three, as he beats Jeter inn average in runs (+2), home runs (+10), RBIs (+11), SB (+14), and SLG (+.060).

But, uh, just one more thing - Jeter being the second best offensive shortstop of all-time is also predicated on one tiny omission that I've left out until now. Imagine if Alex Rodriguez had never moved over to third base.

These are his numbers in comparison to Jeter:

Rodriguez All-Time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
9,818	1,919	2,939	654	1,969	322	.299	.384	.558

Jeter All-Time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
10,614	1,876	3,316	256	1,261	348	.312	.381	.446

Rodriguez Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	108	165	37	110	18	.299	.384	.558

Jeter Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	97	172	13	65	18	.312	.381	0.446

I think it’s fairly obvious who’d win that battle. Lucky break for Jeter, I guess. One could also make an argument that Ernie Banks, who split time between shortstop and first base, is also better.

Banks All-Time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
9,421	1,305	2,583	512	1,636	50	.274	.330	.500

Jeter All-Time:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
10,614	1,876	3,316	256	1,261	348	.312	.381	.446

Banks Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	76	150	30	96	3	.274	.330	.500

Jeter Average:

AB	Runs	Hits	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
550	97	172	13	65	18	.312	.381	0.446

Is He the Best Ever?

Offensively, Jeter was just flat out better than guys like Barry Larkin, Robin Yount, Miguel Tejada, George Davis and Cal Ripkin Jr. Players like Nomar Garciaparra and Arky Vaughan lacked consistency and longevity, and likely wouldn't have blown Jeter out of the water anyway. Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki, and Jose Reyes still have the rest of their careers ahead of them, and are a long way away from Jeter's accomplishments. And A-Rod and Ernie Banks didn't play shortstop exclusively, somewhat excluding themselves from consideration here.

Because of all these reasons and more, Derek Jeter is at least the best offensive shortstop since the 1920s.

But if I haven't fully convinced you, I forgot to mention one thing: Captain Clutch is just that. His stats also carry over to when it counts - in the playoffs. After being on 16 playoff teams and winning five championships, Jeter has amassed a hearty career .308/.374/.465 postseason line. He's also first all-time in postseason plate appearances, hits, times on base, total bases, and runs and third all-time in postseason home runs.

Derek Jeter is arguably the best offensive shortstop of all time. He's at least the best offensive shortstop since 1920. After this year, baseball will have lost one of the all-time greats. And, as much as it pains me to say this, I'm sad to see him go.