Thursday, March 1, 2007

Take your pick: Jeter vs. A-Rod

I'll be the first to admit that I hate the New York Yankees and almost all of their players, coaches, fans, and affiliates. With the recent rumors of an apparent rift between the two star infielders I thought it would be fun to play a game with it.

Ok, so you can only pick one guy and here's the deal. You are starting your own team and can pick one to be your centerpiece. One guy to build your whole team around. Take everything into consideration; I'll go first.


My Guy
I'm going to take Derek Jeter as my pick. There is no doubt that A-Rod may wind up hitting 500 hrs in his career and has more power to his bat but given the criteria of the game I'm going with Jeter. If I am starting my own team there is possibly no other guy in MLB that I'd rather build my team around than Jeter. Here are some of the reasons that I'd go with Jeter over A-Rod:


  • He's a great leader on and off the field
  • Great defensive player at the heart of the infield
  • Comes drastically cheaper
  • Commands much more respect in the clubhouse
  • Has 4 rings - knows how to win and specifically win "The Big One"
  • Much better defensively than A-Rod
  • What he lacks to A-Rod in power he makes up for as a great contact hitter while supplying adequate power numbers
  • What can you say?...He's clutch
  • He's coming arguably his best season ever, while A-rod had an up-and-down year both at the plate and in the field.

Now, both of these players are great, don't get me wrong. Furthermore they are great in their own respects. Comparing the two like this might be a touch unfair because of how different they are. It is kind of like comparing Grady Sizemore to Travis Hafner, or Mark Loretta to Big Papi, etc. It's basically comparing apples to oranges; but that is what makes it fun. So you've heard my choice. Now what's yours? You're starting your own team who do you want, A-Rod or Jeter?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

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twins15 said...

I couldn't disagree more.

With all due respect, I strongly disagree with almost every one of your points.

He's a great leader on and off the field
I'm not sure this is true, but even if it is, so? Does being a great leader off the field really translate into more wins? And if he is such a great leader, why doesn't he do a better job of making A-Rod more comfortable on the team? Or why doesn't he stick up for A-Rod when the media is ripping into him?

Great defensive player at the heart of the infield
Not true at all. He has terrible, terrible range.

Comes drastically cheaper
I don't have the numbers in front of me, but isn't Jeter making like $19 million a year? Not exactly a drastic savings there.

Commands much more respect in the clubhouse
Again, that doesn't have anything to do with winning ballgames on the field.

Has 4 rings - knows how to win and specifically win "The Big One"
And he hasn't won a title since 2001 (i think). Did he forget how to win "The Big One?" Does he forget how to hit in the LCS? His career line there is .262 AVG/.339 OBP/.405 SLG.

Much better defensively than A-Rod
A-Rod was far superior to Jeter defensively at SS before he came to NY. Then, Jeter being the leader he is, had the better defensive player move over.

What he lacks to A-Rod in power he makes up for as a great contact hitter while supplying adequate power numbers
A-Rod isn't exactly a slouch when it comes to hitting either.
Jeter career OPS+ - 123
Rodriguez career OPS+ - 145

What can you say?...He's clutch
Here's what I don't get... if a player is clutch and gets better late in games, why don't they play at that level all of the time? Anyway, clutch is a made-up concept that has a very minimal impact if indeed it does exist. I'm not convinced.

He's coming arguably his best season ever, while A-rod had an up-and-down year both at the plate and in the field.
Jeter was slightly better in 2006, A-Rod has been better in every other year since 1999.

Short answer: I'd take A-Rod and not think twice.

grittysquirrels said...

Fair enough jon,
Also with the resect in the clubhouse thing- I wasn't picking necessarily to win the most games on the field - I was picking for who I'd take to build a team around.

* Also, fetch, I was really not kidding and Im guessing u'd take A-Rod would you like to share why?*

stephen a said...

Well the mayor thankfully looked up most of the numbers for me so i dont have to this early in the morning. But A-Rod is younger than Jeter, and if I was starting a team today and had to pick one of those guys, I'd put A-rod at short. He slugs .573 for his career vs. .463 for Jeter. Their OBP are essentially the same (.386 to .388) so that A-Rod's huge power numbers give him the advantage. His FRAA career is -118, disproving your great defensive player theory, and if you take out his last two playoff series, his playoff numbers are very close to Jeters', which are all luck anyways.

Anonymous said...

not according to your brother's projections.

grittysquirrels said...

I think that was meant to be on for a different post...Unless you have a brother....Do you have a brother?

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