A couple of stat geeks got together and did a study to determine which MLB fielders were the best and worst at each position. According to their research, New York Yankees’ infielder Derek Jeter is the worst defensive shortstop, worst defensive fielder at any position and worst uniform-wearer in all of baseball.
“They watched film of every major-league game, and had recorded every ball off the bat by the direction in which it was hit [the vector], the type of hit [groundball, flyball, line-drive, popup, etc.] and by how hard the ball was hit [softly hit, medium, hard hit],” according to James.
In an earlier article that appears on James’ Fielding Bible Web site, BIS ripped Jeter.
“They had analyzed the outcomes to determine who was best at turning hit balls into outs,” James wrote. “One of their conclusions was that Jeter was probably the least effective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position.”
Jeter is no stranger to statistically questioned fielding. A Penn University study released in February found Jeter to be the worst shortstop in the majors.
“Maybe it was a computer glitch,” Jeter told The Post during spring training. “Every [shortstop] doesn’t stay in the same spot, every one doesn’t have the same pitching. Every one doesn’t have the same hitters running. It’s impossible to do that.”
There’s no question Jeter has lost a step over the years, but it wasn’t too long ago that he was one of the best defensive shortstops in the game. And regardless of what a couple of stat-heads say, Jeter never takes a play off, often sacrifices his body to make plays and always plays with energy.
Other shortstops like Jimmy Rollins, Troy Tulowitzki and J.J. Hardy might be better defensively, but I would still take Jeter on my team in a heartbeat.
