Despite the fielding stats, Derek Jeter is still a great fielder. This fairly common and fairly ridiculous notion is presented this morning by the Daily News:
"Jeter rarely has gotten much praise for his fielding, perhaps because there have always been several other slick players at his position. Omar Vizquel had a nine-year stranglehold on the Gold Glove award before A-Rod won it in 2002 and 2003, while Nomar Garciaparra and Miguel Tejada have - at points in their careers - been perceived as better fielders than Jeter.
Statistically, Jeter was fourth among AL shortstops in fielding percentage and errors, though he did record the most putouts. Critics often point to his rank in categories such as range factor (putouts plus assists divided by innings, in which he was ranked eighth) and zone rating (the percentage of balls fielded in a player's "zone" as defined by STATS Inc., in which Jeter finished sixth) and say Jeter does not field his position as well as many believe. But the managers and coaches who voted on the award apparently ignored those theories."
Stats are not theories. They are a good reminder and a good gauge of a player's abilities over the long run. Jeter's thrilling catch vs. Boston on July 1 does not mean he deserves the Gold Glove. That would be like marvelling at Mark Bellhorn's game-winning homerun vs. St. Louis in the World Series and concluding, "Did you see that homerun? Mark Bellhorn is ... he's the ... he's the best homerun hitter in the American League!"
Look, Jeter is a great player, blah blah blah, nobody is disputing this. Start molding the Cooperstown plaque. But why do "managers and coaches who voted on the award" need to throw him a gold glove bone, thereby (further) corrupting the veracity of the Gold Glove award?
It's hardly the first time this has happened, it happens all the time, perhaps most notoriously when Rafael Palmeiro won the 1b gold glove despite playing most of the season as a DH. Bernie Williams won undeservedly a few years ago, as another example.
The AL gold glove middle infield for 2004 is supposedly Derek Jeter and Bret Boone. Think about that for a minute. Imagine being the GM who's trying to shore up his infield defense in some kind of imaginary fantasy draft and you had to scout the best middle infield in the whole league. You can pick anybody you want and you decide to go with Derek Jeter and Bret Boone instead of, say, Bobby Crosby and Orlando Hudson. You'd be fired on the spot.
It's the Gold Glove. It's supposed to reward good fielding. Why bother if you're just going to vote for the best overall player, or the most popular player, or the best offensive player? That approach is downright stupid and it's the main reason the Gold Glove award is basically meaningless.
Steven Goldman of the Pinstriped Bible is pretty darn good.
Here is what he said about Jeter on October 20th:
"Finally, for those who have argued about whether the statistics that showed Jeter to be a poor shortstop were actually true, his play in this series has amply demonstrated that the emperor has no clothes — or at least needs a new glove."
This is Goldman on October 25th, and I could have written this gem myself:
"It's okay if you don't accept the stats. Fielding stats are notoriously unreliable. Just use your eyes. Jeter misses many balls that more rangy shortstops reach. His intelligence and instincts on the field only make up for so much. The concession the Yankees made to Jeter's ego in keeping him at short when A-Rod came aboard was the first nail in the championship coffin."
Goldman wrote these criticisms before Jeter won his Gold Glove, but it's not Goldman who looks ridiculous, it's the managers and coaches who voted for the Gold Glove in the AL.
"Just use your eyes," indeed.
Hear! Hear!
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