PhillyBirds
Mentor
With Spring Training looming, the NY Yankees are faced with a few personnel decisions, one of which being who their leadoff hitter will be. When asked this question NY skipper Joe Girardi replied:
"My thought with Derek is that we signed him to be our shortstop and we signed him to be our leadoff hitter...''
To his credit, Jeter has made a fantastic career leading off for the Yankees. Heck, he hit .334/.406/.465 in 2009 and finished third in the MVP voting that year, one of his best seasons ever at age 35. Why should this even be in doubt, you ask? There are a few reasons.
Firstly, Jeter came off of the worst season of his career, at age 36. His batting average (.270) on-base percentage (.340) and OPS (.710) were all the lowest since 1995, when he appeared in only fifteen games. While never a fantastic base stealer, Jeter has usually been solid in that regard, yet stole only 18 in 23 chances in 2010. Mind you, those numbers are still nothing to sneeze at, but many analysts think that, in addition to his eroding range at shortstop, these may be the signs of Jeter's decline. And if it is, he's had himself a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
But I think the Yankees have their leadoff man of the future in left fielder/center fielder Brett Gardner. Widely regarded as one of the fastest men in the Majors, Gardner is the rare white athlete whose blazing speed is actually acknowledged for what it is. He is a successful and smart base stealer as well, stealing 47 bags last year while being caught only nine times. He's as exciting a player as you'll find. He also has a keen eye at the plate. Brett kept a .383 OBP in 477 ABs while batting .277. Gardner is a .289/.389/.383 hitter in 388 career minor league games, so his skillset has translated nicely to the Majors.
Derek Jeter is an all-time great ballplayer. He's also one that could be on the decline as soon as this year. Good thing the Yankees have their speedy leadoff man of the future. It's just a matter of time until Brett should get a chance to shine in a league with so few white leadoff men.
Edited by: PhillyBirds
"My thought with Derek is that we signed him to be our shortstop and we signed him to be our leadoff hitter...''
To his credit, Jeter has made a fantastic career leading off for the Yankees. Heck, he hit .334/.406/.465 in 2009 and finished third in the MVP voting that year, one of his best seasons ever at age 35. Why should this even be in doubt, you ask? There are a few reasons.
Firstly, Jeter came off of the worst season of his career, at age 36. His batting average (.270) on-base percentage (.340) and OPS (.710) were all the lowest since 1995, when he appeared in only fifteen games. While never a fantastic base stealer, Jeter has usually been solid in that regard, yet stole only 18 in 23 chances in 2010. Mind you, those numbers are still nothing to sneeze at, but many analysts think that, in addition to his eroding range at shortstop, these may be the signs of Jeter's decline. And if it is, he's had himself a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
But I think the Yankees have their leadoff man of the future in left fielder/center fielder Brett Gardner. Widely regarded as one of the fastest men in the Majors, Gardner is the rare white athlete whose blazing speed is actually acknowledged for what it is. He is a successful and smart base stealer as well, stealing 47 bags last year while being caught only nine times. He's as exciting a player as you'll find. He also has a keen eye at the plate. Brett kept a .383 OBP in 477 ABs while batting .277. Gardner is a .289/.389/.383 hitter in 388 career minor league games, so his skillset has translated nicely to the Majors.
Derek Jeter is an all-time great ballplayer. He's also one that could be on the decline as soon as this year. Good thing the Yankees have their speedy leadoff man of the future. It's just a matter of time until Brett should get a chance to shine in a league with so few white leadoff men.
Edited by: PhillyBirds
