By: Martin Rand, III
Date: July 17, 2011
It's been two weeks since Derek Jeter hit his 3,000th hit. Remarkably, when he did this, he became the first New York Yankee player to do it. This led to a lot of debate about whether he is the greatest Yankee of all-time. It seems like a fair question, considering he's done something that no other Yankee has ever done.
There is a definite top three when people talk about the greatest Yankees. They are, and in no particular order:
All three have great accomplishments; and at one point during their careers, have done something that no other Yankee has ever done. Ruth is the only Yankee to ever hit over 700 home-runs, DiMaggio has his 56-game hitting steak (MLB record) and Mantle hit for the Triple Crown.
So what is it that would separate Jeter from these three great players in crowning him the greatest?
Is it his career numbers? Umm... No. Jeter's career averages are no where near the other three. He does have a career batting average over .300 but he has a career RBI average of 68 and has never hit more than 24 homeruns in a season. While, Ruth, DiMaggio and Mantle each averaged 100 RBIs with close to 30 HRs every season. Ruth actually has the best numbers overall for his career.
Is it his career awards? Possibly, but I don't think so. He does have more awards than any of the other players. He has five Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, two Hank Aarons, one Rookie Of the Year, one World Series MVP and one All-Star MVP. That all sounds good, but it's not greatest Yankee worthy. You see, with the exception of the ROY and MVP awards, all these awards are for being a great hitter or fielder, which was never in question. To be the greatest Yankee, a player has to prove that they are the best player during their playing days; and the one award that has eluded Jeter his whole career is a regular season MVP, which is something that belongs to the other three players. Also, most of these awards weren't implemented when Ruth, DiMaggio and Mantle played.
Is it championships? This is the only category where Jeter has high standing. He has five titles which is one more than Ruth and Mantle. However, DiMaggio blows him out of Yankee Stadium with nine titles.
So, what is it that separates Jeter? The answer is nothing.
As a life-long fan of the Yankees and fan of Jeter, it pains me to say this but nothing sticks when saying he is the greatest Yankee of all-time. His regular season numbers don't show it, he has no regular season MVP awards and he needs another hand full of rings to own the top spot in most titles.
Jeter could be the greatest shortstop, fielder or hitter in Yankee history; but to call him the greatest overall player is wrong. At first thought, wondering if he is the greatest Yankee seems like a valid question because he has done something that no other Yankee has ever been able to accomplish; however, upon further inspection, it's clear to see that Jeter is not the greatest Yankee of all-time.
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Categories:
Babe Ruth,
Derek Jeter,
Joe Dimaggio,
Martin Rand III,
Micky Mantle,
New York Yankees,
Sports
