Derek Jeter vs. Justin Timberlake
The two greatest American bachelors still on the prowl today.
John Mayer used to give them a run for their money, but women have scorned him since he referenced Jessica Simpson as “sexual napalm”.
So, let’s settle the debate once and for all.
Who has dated hotter girls? Jeter or Timberlake?
I’ll compare their five hottest girlfriends (in my opinion of course) to determine the ultimate winner.
No player has felt the demand to perform every plate appearance like Alex Rodriguez has since Dave Winfield was nicknamed Mr. May in the 1980’s. However, this week there were several instances of Yankee fans going to bat—so to speak—for Rodriguez over Derek Jeter.
The Jeter-Rodriguez debate returned to New York sports-talk radio from wherever it was left two years ago. However. it changed. It used to be that Rodriguez can’t come through in the clutch, highlighted by his .133 and .071 averages in the 2005 and 2006 ALDS. Now it is that Jeter is overrated, too old to play shortstop and is washed up.
What happened? I will admit that I will defend Jeter to death, no matter what, and have always admitted that Rodriguez’s stats are far better than the shortstop’s. But why do we have to throw one under the bus? Why not like both?
I guess I just don’t understand why you can’t like Paul McCartney if you like John Lennon, they’re both Beatles. It is the same with these two.
Jeter may be overrated, he has been put on this pedestal of all-time great players like Ruth, Mays, Williams and few others have reached. Rodriguez is the one that should be on this pedestal—the numbers are incomparable.
Rodriguez has hit at least 30 home runs, driven in over 100 runs every year since 1998, has been named the AL Most Valuable Player three times, and has made 13 All-Star Games. Now, after his Ruthian 2009 postseason with six home runs, 18 RBI and a .366 average, what else does he have to prove? Not a thing to me.
While, Jeter has had a Hall of Fame career, he has six seasons with 200 or more hits, five World Series rings and is the only player to be named the All-Star MVP and World Series MVP in the same season.
His career has been set apart by a series of moments such as the flip play in the 2000 ALDS, diving into the stands against the Red Sox in 2004, or a fan reaching over the fence and catching a ball to give Jeter a home run. That’s what separates Jeter, he always seems to be in the right spot at the right time—always.
So, can we stop this Jeter or Rodriguez debate? They’re Yankees, we’re Yankee fans—we are supposed to root for them to play well and let them know what we think when they play badly.
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Buck Showalter has made a fool out of himself.
He was quoted as talking about yelling at Derek Jeter in a game last season for bailing out on inside pitches. He said his team could not believe he was yelling at Derek Jeter.
There is a good reason Jete bails on inside pitches.
In the history of baseball, Derek Jeter is 19th all-time in being hit by pitches. Among current players he is tied for fourth on the list with his teammate, Alex Rodriguez. Each has been hit 152 times.
Only Jason Kendall, Carlos Delgado and Jason Giambi have been hit more times than Jeter among players still active on a major-league roster.
The all-time HBP leader is Old Ee-Yah, Hughie Jennings, who last actually played in 1902. Jennings was hit a record 287 times. The only player of the modern era who was close to the record was Craig Biggio, who almost surpassed Ee-Yah, being hit 285 times.
Everyone in baseball knows Jeter likes the ball out over the plate and that he is an expert at driving the ball to right field.
He is also known for striding into the ball—at least he was in the past. He is now working on an alteration to his setup at the plate that will reduce his movement toward home plate and get his front foot down faster.
So pitchers have thrown up and in to Jeter. Of course he bails on close pitches. He has been hit in the hands a number of times and has missed some play from injuries that occurred this way.
One incident that drew a great deal of publicity and much criticism of Jeter occurred last season, when he feigned being hit and was awarded first base after a high and tight pitch came too close.
Jeter was chastised as being a poor sport, and efforts were made unsuccessfully to tarnish his iconic image because of his acting.
But nothing came of the criticism of the pitch that didn’t hit Jeter, and nothing will come of Showalter’s theatrics, which are much more ridiculous than what Jeter did.
Every player in the big leagues would have done exactly as Jeter did on that play if given the chance. They are playing a competitive sport, looking for every edge they can. If you can get on first base, that is the goal.
But Showalter’s comments are way out of line, and he needs to just shut up and sit down.
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Although in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s appeal among baseball fans is eons from fading into the sunset.
According to a joint release by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Player Association, Jeter, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay top the list of baseball’s most popular jerseys. The rankings were based on sales of official Majestic jerseys for the 2010 calendar year.
Players representing 11 different clubs made up the list of the 20 most popular jerseys—including seven of the eight teams that made the playoffs in 2010—with players from seven different teams comprising the top ten.
At the age of 36, Jeter represented as the elder statesman of the group, but yet his jersey still managed to outsell those of his younger counterparts, including the three rookie sensations that appeared on the list (Jason Heyward, Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey).
The Yankees captain was joined on the list by teammates Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, who had the ninth and eleventh best-selling jerseys respectively.
The Phillies had the most players in the top 20 with four (Halladay, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard).
The list was comprised of two catchers, four pitchers, ten infielders, four outfielders, 16 players who made the 2010 All-Star Game and 15 players who were members of teams that qualified for the postseason.
MLB Most Popular Jerseys
Based on Majestic 2010 sales figures
1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
2. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
3. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
4. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
5. *Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
6. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
7. Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
8. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
9. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
10. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
11. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
12. Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
13. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
14. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
15. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
16. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
17. Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
18. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
19. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
20. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
*Lee played for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers in 2010, before signing with Philadelphia in November. His ranking reflects sales of jerseys for all three teams.
In a related news item, Major League Baseball also announced that sales of officially licensed MLB merchandise reached an all-time high in 2010, with total licensing revenues up six percent over the previous year.
Products featuring the marks of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Phillies and Cubs were the hottest sellers last year.
MLB Licensing 2010 Club Rankings
Based on sales of all licensed products for the 2010 calendar year
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Chicago Cubs
6. St. Louis Cardinals
8. Atlanta Braves
9. Minnesota Twins
10. Detroit Tigers
Click here to read the original article at SportsHaze.com.
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This is the final installment if a seven-part series predicting the records of each team, and now the playoffs. The teams that make the postseason in this installment are based off of previous ones.
Now that the 2011 season is closer than ever, and Opening Day is only eight days away, we writers are giving our preseason predictions, and these are mine. Through careful analysis of records, schedules, transactions, and more I have compiled my postseason picks.
Now, it’s time to break them down.
Matchups in the postseason are incredible, and they always provide fireworks. The ability to play five or seven games against your opponent is what makes baseball great. The best teams usually come out on top, but sometimes we have surprises, like the 2008 Phillies or 2010 Giants.
These next slides are my predictions of each postseason series, and breakdowns of each series. Sure, the postseason is over seven months away, but it’s never too early.
What is the big deal with Derek Jeter batting second? Why are the media and some Yankee fans up in arms over this?
How many games has Jeter batted second in his Yankee career? Care to take a guess? Out of his 2,295 games as a Yankee, he’s batted second 1,270 times.
What is the goal of a leadoff hitter? To get on base, see a lot of pitches and steal bases.
Is Jeter the best at those things on the Yankees? No. That honor goes to Brett Gardner, who last season had an OBP of .383, stole 47 bases and saw a league-best 4.61 pitches per at-bat.
My only concern with Jeter batting second would be if he continues to hit ground balls like he did last year. Hitting a lot of ground balls as the No. 2 hitter equals a lot of double plays.
By batting Jeter second, they also would move Nick Swisher down in the order, probably to sixth, which would provide protection to Robinson Cano. I personally think Cano should be batting third, but that’s another story for another day.
Yes, the leadoff hitter is only guaranteed to lead off once per game and the rest of the game is just another hitter (and why Gardner normally batted ninth so they could get two “leadoff” hitters back-to-back).
In my opinion, the most dangerous Yankee lineup is one with Gardner leading off, followed by Jeter and then Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.
While Derek Jeter has been a great Yankee, no one is bigger than the team. If the Yankees would do better with someone else batting leadoff and Jeter batting somewhere else (this includes dropping him to the bottom of the order if he repeats his 2010 season), that’s what needs to happen.
The goal of every Yankee team is to win the World Series, and a lineup with Gardner leading off is the best bet for that to happen.
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Coming off the worst statistical season of his career, the questions of whether Derek Jeter was still a capable leadoff hitter were rampant. And with a speedster like Brett Gardner spending most of his time in the No. 9 hole, a replacement for Jeter atop the lineup was already in-house.
While manager Joe Girardi was unwilling to say directly that he would consider moving Jeter down in the lineup, he did say that he’d try “different things.”
Well, he’s trying something different tonight when the Yankees meet the Tampa Bay Rays.
Gardner, not Jeter, is set to leadoff, with Jeter batting second.
Is this a view of things to come in 2011? Perhaps.
Last season, Jeter set career lows in almost every offensive category—including batting average (.270) and OBP (.340). Jeter batted first 137 times last season, and was out of that spot just 18 times.
In 591 at-bats leading off, Jeter batted .283. In just 96 at-bats in that spot, Gardner hit .290 and collected 12 of his 47 stolen bases.
For the season, Gardner batted .277 with a .383 OBP and 97 runs scored.
A veteran like Jeter deserves to at least start the season batting first. A career .314 hitter should not be so easily displaced from his customary position. But Girardi has to be willing to make the change if Jeter does not show that least season was a fluke in an otherwise stellar career.
If Girardi isn’t willing to move Jeter down in the lineup during the season, does Jeter have the conviction to move himself out of that spot?
Even Jeter must recognize he’s getting older. Gardner is faster, younger and much more of a stolen base threat. He possesses all the qualities one would want from a leadoff hitter. Jeter has possessed them for the last 15 years, though, and admitting those skills aren’t there any longer would be difficult for anyone.
Despite the poor offensive season, Jeter still managed to score more runs (111) than he did in 2009 (109), when he batted .334 with a .406 OBP. In other words, scoring runs in the Yankee lineup isn’t the most difficult task in baseball. If Jeter can improve even slightly, he should still have a productive season.
Not to mention, Jeter is too good of a player to fade so quickly.
For tonight though, it’s Gardner’s show. A few good games out of the leadoff spot, and perhaps Girardi will have to think about lineup changes a little harder. In the regular season, that’s still Jeter’s show.
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You want controversy? I’ll give you controversy. Jackie Robinson was better than Derek Jeter.
Every American knows why Robinson played in the major leagues for only 10 years. Meanwhile, Jeter is starting his 17th season with the New York Yankees.
Robinson was “given permission” to start to his major league career at the age of 28 in 1947 as the first black player admitted to Major League Baseball. Jeter joined the Yankees when he was 21 in 1995, his first full season coming in 1996. Each was the Rookie of the Year, and though Jeter did not have an opportunity to win it for both leagues, that is what Robinson had to do to gain the honor back in ’47.
Robinson brought an excitement to base running that had not been seen since the halcyon days of Ty Cobb. He revolutionized the game as much as Babe Ruth had done almost 30 years before.
“I saw what Jackie Robinson did with his stealing home plate, and his daring base running,” Hank Aaron once said, according to The New York Times. “He brought excitement to the game. When I was in Milwaukee, we used to play that old, dull game. But, with the influx of more talented black athletes, that Jackie Robinson style caught on.”
Robinson would dance off first base, going just far enough so that he could get back if the pitcher attempted to pick him off.
He was in constant motion. It didn’t matter if Robinson was at first, second or third. He dared the pitcher to throw over to the bag.
Pitchers felt harassed. They lost their composure, which helped the Brooklyn hitters. Pivotmen on attempted double plays hesitated a split second, giving Dodger baserunners that much more time to reach safety.
This is not what Derek Jeter brings to the table.
Robinson had just over 1,500 career hits, but Jeter will soon become the first Yankee to have 3,000 career hits, in just under twice the years played.
Jeter’s defense is extremely difficult to evaluate.
Some consider him an above-average defender who positions himself well, while some have rated him among the worst defensive shortstops of all time.
Robinson played all over the diamond, making it even more difficult to compare their defensive merits, so let’s look at some offensive numbers.
Jeter has batted .314, with a .385 on-base average and a .452 slugging average.
Robinson’s triple-slash line reads .311/.409/.474.
Each averaged 23 stolen bases a season. Caught stealing records were not kept until 1951, but both players have been effective base stealers.
Since Robinson couldn’t start his major league career until he was 28 years old, one can compare Robinson and Jeter from the time the latter reached his 28th birthday.
Again, Robinson only played 10 years.
Jeter has batted .310/.380/.441, in nine seasons since he was 28 in 2002.
Jackie Robinson edges Jeter statistically, both for their careers and after the age of 28.
As great as Jeter has been with respect to “intangibles,” no one in the history of the game had more “intangibles” than Jackie Robinson in my opinion.
It is not difficult to imagine the results if Robinson had started his major league career at the age of 22. The fact that he accomplished so much in a relatively short time period is remarkable.
Derek Jeter is one of the all-time greats. He has avoided controversy, which has helped cement his career as one of the classiest individuals to have played the game. With all that he endured and nonetheless produced, Jackie Robinson had a different kind of class and deserves to be considered on another echelon altogether.
References
Johnson, Roy S. “Jackie Robinson to Now: A Growing Dominance.” New York Times. Oct. 28, 1982. p. 17.
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In a recent poll of over 800 New Yorkers, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was voted No. 1 over Babe Ruth as New York’s greatest athlete.
Yes, you read that right. According to voters, Derek Jeter is better than Babe Ruth, and Joe Namath also cracked the Top Five.
When I was initially informed of this, the first thought that popped into my head was, “They must have just polled a bunch of 18-to-25-year-old Yankee fans,” because no one older than that and in his right mind would say that Jeter is better than Ruth or that Lawrence Taylor, Mark Messier, Jackie Robinson or Walt Frasier weren’t better than Joe Namath.
All this does is confirm that polls are pretty much pointless. It also makes me question the sports knowledge of New Yorkers.
No, not all New Yorkers fall into this category. I’m betting the ones with any sports knowledge didn’t bother to answer the poll.
What’s even sadder is that 59 percent of those polled consider themselves “sports nuts,” and the best Ruth could get was 11 percent (compared to Jeter’s 14 percent).
The Top Five is comprised of Jeter, Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Namath. I have no problem with Joe D, Mickey and Babe being in the Top Five.
I have a major problem with Namath being there at all and with Jeter being ranked higher than anyone.
If I had to do a Top Five just for the Yankees, it would be, in this order: Ruth, Lou Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and Yogi Berra. Jeter doesn’t even crack the Yankees‘ Top Five—he’d be sixth on my list.
I’m a Yankee fan and I think Jeter is one of the best ever, but come on, people!
If you’re going to claim to be a “sports nut” like 59 percent of those polled did, at least have some knowledge of New York sports before 1996!
What do you think? Am I off base or do you agree?
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Every two years or so, a glossy men’s magazine will profile Derek Jeter. Like death, taxes, and Adam Sandler comedies with melodramatic courtroom climaxes, it’s unavoidable.
I surmise the goal of these profiles is get to know the real Derek Jeter, misguided as that notion may be. As anyone who’s followed the shortstop’s career can attest, Jeter enjoys sharing intimate details about himself about as much as he likes sliding shoulder-first into Ken Huckaby’s shin guard.
Jeter’s a pro in so many ways, and he’s not going to talk himself into trouble. His interactions with the media are evidence of this.
Because of this, each profile inevitably becomes a rehash of the same stories and themes you’ve heard before. You’ll typically come away from these features with the understanding that Jeter:
a) is a nice guy.
b) Is a hard worker.
c) Likes his privacy.
GQ profiled the 11-time All-Star for their April 2011 edition, sending a season-ticket-holding Red Sox fan (what?!) to meet with the Yankees icon over two days in Florida.
The results were more or less what we’ve come to expect from this type of affair, though to the magazine’s credit, they did get Jeter to pose with a prop. That was pretty cool.
Here are a few noteworthy nuggets from the piece:
In The Captain, his forthcoming biography of Jeter, Ian O’Connor writes about a small party Jeter hosted. When Jeter’s then flame and one of her girlfriends arrived at his house, Jeter answered the door and politely asked his guests to remove any cell phones or cameras they were carrying and place them on a table, explaining that he wanted to protect his privacy.
First off, how did Ian O’Connor get this information? If I were him, I’d be be installing new security equipment at my house… Jeter may be Out For Justice, Seagal-style. That’s right Ian, we’re talking compound wrist fractures and a possible screwdriver wound to the esophagus.
Can you imagine attending a dinner party and being asked to remove all electronic devices like you’re going through security at LAX?
Here’s another one …
By all accounts, when Jeter has felt at risk of being exposed, he’s taken swift steps. About ten years ago, a freelancer working on a piece for The New York Times was in the Yankees locker room after batting practice. Jeter and some other players were joking around—”it was something totally innocuous,” the reporter says—when Jeter realized there was a tape recorder in the room. Later that night, the reporter was buttonholed by a Yankees PR staffer and one of the team’s security guards. When the reporter tried to apologize to Jeter for any misunderstanding, he says, Jeter refused to acknowledge that anything had happened in the first place.
The “I don’t even know what you’re talking about” gag! Glad to see this still has a place in 21st century discourse. And while we’re here, what do you think Jeter and his teammates were being so “innocuous” about? I’ve got 20 bucks saying they were ragging on Giambi for a particularly nasty fart. Any takers?
Moving on …
Jeter didn’t watch (Andy) Pettitte’s (retirement) press conference, he was doing his weekday-morning workout, and he ignored my efforts to get him to talk about the implications for his own career. “It’s something you won’t even realize until you get to spring training,” he said when I asked him whether Pettitte’s decision made him think about his own future. “But the thing about Andy is, he left for three years to play in Houston. You don’t want to say you’re used to him not being there, but at least you have something to compare it to. There was a while there where he was gone.”
There was something about that quote that makes me wonder if Jeter harbors any resentment toward Pettitte for his three-year sabbatical in Houston. We know Jeter is a loyalty guy that keeps a tight circle. Maybe I’m just reading into that the wrong way, but thought it warranted mentioning.
Could you imagine Jeter using the same icy tone a year from now when Posada goes off into the sunset?
And one more …
Before I left for the airport, I asked Jeter what he had planned for the rest of the day. “I’m probably going to go home and watch a movie,” he said, grinning. “I’m going to watch The Roommate. It’s a new one. Just came out today. Go check it out.” It was a rare acknowledgment of his private life. His girlfriend, Minka Kelly, is one of the movie’s stars. We exchanged some more pleasantries, and then, as he was climbing into his car, he shouted over one last time: “Remember: The Roommate. Seriously. Check it out. It’s worth it.”
Talented, handsome, hard-working … and a sense of humor!
Dan Hanzus writes three columns a week on his New York Yankees site, River & Sunset. He can be reached at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danhanzus.
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