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Captain Jeter Chooses (Gasp!) Self Over Team?

Rotblatt Sep 18 2006 02:35 PM

From [url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5534&PHPSESSID=621bf15f5a2ddb70e29e5119307261ac]BP[/url]: ]With his team holding a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning, the Yankees’ Derek Jeter came to the plate, runner of second, one out. Jeter entered the game with a 25-game hitting streak, but had yet to connect on this night. Craig Hansen quickly ran the count to 3-0, opening the possibility that Jeter would draw a free pass and, given the score and inning, not get another chance to extend the streak. Jeter would have none of that, though. Even though Hansen’s 3-0 pitch was likely ball four, outside and possibly low, he took a swing at it and grounded weakly to first base. The runner ended up stranded, and the Yankee bullpen eventually gave up three runs in a 5-4 loss. The play was a fairly crtical one in the game; the difference between first-and-second with one out against runner on third with two out is more than half a run, and a walk there might well have stoked a rally that would have put away the game. Let's be very clear about this: Jeter was swinging to extend the hitting streak. He took an 0-2 hack on a 3-0 pitch that was likely ball four. This isn’t Jeffrey Francoeur or Angel Berroa here; this is a disciplined hitter who might well be the most valuable player in the American League this year. In fact, Joe Morgan and Jon Miller had spent a couple of innings at the start of the game discussing that possibility in the context of a larger discussion of what constitutes "value," going so far as to read the voting guidelines for the award. As there is in any Yankees telecast, there was praise for Jeter as a player who is a winner, who does the little things, etc.; what there wasn’t was any discussion, at all, as to the merits of his chasing ball four on a 3-0 count for no reason other than personal advancement. I couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened had another player, a less popular one, one not anointed by the baseball press, taken the same tack in trying to extend his hitting streak. It was hard for me to not think about Mike Cameron. Back in 2002, Cameron hit four home runs in his first four at-bats in a game against the White Sox. He was hit by a pitch his fifth time up, and then went to 3-0 in his final AB. Despite it being a 15-4 game, and despite his chance at immortality hanging in the balance, Cameron took the 3-0 pitch. I gained a lot of respect for Cameron in that moment, and I think it’s an interesting contrast to Jeter’s seventh-inning hack last night. He goes on to note that the Yankees' regular season is all but over already, making the game essentially meaningless, but I figured we're not so interested in that side of the debate . . . At any rate, he concludes with: ]Was Jeter wrong to take that 3-0 hack? There’s no definitive answer, but I think the question deserves a bit more consideration than it got last night. Now, if it had been Beltran up there, I would've been dissapointed in him, but basically would have given him a pass. That being said, I think he would've taken the pitch.

metirish Sep 18 2006 02:38 PM

I'm shocked reading this....

cooby Sep 18 2006 02:45 PM

I don't know, a 26 game hitting streak might be worth fighting for. Plus it's not like he ever imagined the Yankees would loose the game

Valadius Sep 18 2006 03:29 PM

He's a schmuck.

soupcan Sep 18 2006 03:43 PM

Much as I'd like to believe that Captain Intangibles is a douchebag at his core, this part... ]Yankees' regular season is all but over already, making the game essentially meaningless ...does happen to be true. Had the game really 'counted' maybe he takes the pitch.

Willets Point Sep 18 2006 03:45 PM

I propose a contest. Write a paragraph from the point of view of a Jeter apologist explaining how this incident shows that Jeter is a competitor, a leader and has the intangibles that help the Yankees win. Bonus points if you can somehow make A-Rod look bad. We'll vote on the best entry and the winner will be the new captain of the CPF.

Centerfield Sep 18 2006 03:50 PM

He's a schmuck, not because he cares, but because he pretends not to and his idiot manager pretends not to know the rules of the game. Torre wants us to believe that he pulled Jeter in the 7th inning with the streak over, and thereby perhaps taking from him a chance to extend it later in the game. Asking us to buy that is an insult to our intelligence. His swing on 3-0, coupled with Torre declining to use him as pinch-hitter in the first game (despite it being a close game and the MFY's needing baserunners) is more than enough to see that the streak matters to both of them. A hitting streak is a great personal accomplishment...there is no shame in taking pride in it. Keith talks about how giving away at-bats in blowout games can be the difference between hitting .290 and .300. Michael Jordan, needing 63 points in the last game to win the scoring title, told the Knicks he was going to drop 63 on them that day. Rickey Henderson gets a giant gold medallion depicting his record steal total. There are plenty of guys who take pride in personal accomplishment. Maybe if Jeter were like these guys instead of a fucking phony, we would hate him less.

Frayed Knot Sep 18 2006 03:53 PM

It's not like the actions of one pitch constitutes a big deal, but it does show what happens when these unremovable labels get attached. No one questioned Jeter there because doing so would bump up against the pre-written story about what he is -- or, at least, what his legend says he is. Jeter's one of those who has the Michael Jordan/Tiger Woods act down pat where they never avoid the press but rarely say anything even remotely off script when doing so. I mean it wouldn't or shouldn't shock anyone if he were to say that, yeah the batting title, the hitting streak, and the MVP race were important to him. But the fact that he repeats the standard lines over and over again all puts a George Washington/cherry tree style spin on the whole deal and makes it sound about as convincing. That the press continues to lap it all up is more their fault than his.

cooby Sep 18 2006 03:54 PM

It's personal stats that add up to team success

Willets Point Sep 18 2006 03:56 PM

Perhaps I should offer a better prize.

Frayed Knot Sep 18 2006 04:00 PM

cooby wrote: It's personal stats that add up to team success To a point, yes; but the article is specifically about one instance where maybe it wasn't. And again, the main focus is not that this makes Jeter a rotten person, but rather about those who won't question his actions (even those who were just talking about that very topic as it happened) because it flies in the face of the established (and some might say carefully crafted) image.

Yancy Street Gang Sep 18 2006 04:02 PM

Maybe twenty years after he retires, Jeter will be selling autographed baseballs, for $1,000 each, that say, "I'm sorry I was such a phony. Derek Jeter." What I'm talking about

Willets Point Sep 18 2006 04:11 PM

I thought his hair looked bad in his playing days and any change would be an improvement. I was wrong.

metirish Sep 18 2006 04:13 PM

Whatever about his hair he's go some set of balls.

Edgy DC Sep 18 2006 05:46 PM

Why disrespect Jeff Francoeur?

ScarletKnight41 Sep 18 2006 05:52 PM

I love CF.

Edgy DC Sep 18 2006 05:54 PM

More seriously, I havn't seen the pitch and the swing, so I can't jump to a judgment, but the guy makes a good case. Sheehan would have done better to confront both Jeter and the guys in the booth, but BP just doesn't do that type of journalism. In many ways, the web doesn't. I mean, I'm technically publishing a criticism of Sheehan here, and I'm not getting a quote from him. But I'd like to see more web journalists hold themselves to that standard. Heck, I'd like to see more sports journalists of all media hold themselves to it.

Frayed Knot Sep 18 2006 07:23 PM

Edgy DC wrote: Why disrespect Jeff Francoeur? Well, his point is that Jeter is NOT a Francoeur type who makes a habit of swinging at anything thrown between the on-deck circles. That a reasonably disciplined hitter like Jeter did go for an outside pitch there on a 3-0 count late in the game at least lends some credence to the theory that he was thinking about the hit streak there (self) more than the game situation (team).

Valadius Sep 18 2006 07:26 PM

ALL HAIL THE SUPER-SACRED SEAVER POST!!!

MFS62 Sep 18 2006 09:04 PM

Hail Ming. Later