Derek Jeter is the heart and soul of the New York Yankees. He has dedicated his life to playing in pinstripes and never once had any real bad press. He is a model player one which all others should aspire to be. By all indications, he is the shortstop all teams desire…well used to.
The reality is that Derek Jeter 2010 is not the Derek Jeter 2000 or even 2009. His stats are Hall of Fame worthy. He has helped lead the Yankees to 5 World Series. He has appeared in multiple All-Star games, won 5 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Slugger awards, and appeared on the MVP voting numerous times. He has been so important to the Yankees organization that they signed him to a ten year/189 million dollar deal; one that ran out after the Yankees lost to the Rangers in the ALCS.
Now it is time to decide, is Derek Jeter going to be a Yankee? Almost every bone in my body says “YES”, he remains. But what this battle between the player and the team will come down to is the contract…how much is Derek Jeter worth today?
Rumors floating around originally said that Jeter and his agent wanted 6 years/150 million dollars. Since then, his agent has refuted those rumors, stating they merely want 5 years at around 23-24 million per year. The Yankees have offered three years at around 15 million per year(or 45 million total). Now that is a huge gap. So lets look at the last two years of Jeter’s career.
2009: 35 years old.
At bats: 634
Batting Average: .334
Runs Batted In: 66
Home runs: 18
Doubles: 27
Stolen Bases: 30
Strike outs: 90
On Base %: .406
2010: 36 years old
At bats: 663
Batting Average: .270
Runs Batted In: 67
Home runs: 10
Doubles: 30
Stolen Bases: 18
Strike outs: 106
On Base %: .340
Clearly, Derek Jeter, aged 36, is on the decline. While several of his numbers are up, such as RBIs and Doubles, the stats that stick out the most is the batting average and the on base percentage. He is getting on base less than he used to, which is a red flag. If the Yankees give him what he wants, they will be stuck with an aging and declining player. Considering they have players like Alex Rodriguez, as well as others, to large deals, they will be hard pressed to dedicate that money to a future DH. I read this weekend that Jeter’s agent said that the Yankees offer was baffling and they needed to pay Jeter for all he has done for the organization. I honestly thought the 10 year/185 million dollar deal paid him for those years.
I understand that players have a hard time admitting when they are declining. Hopefully these two would come some agreement because, as much as I hate the Yankees, Jeter needs to remain in pinstripes for his entire career.
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