Derek Jeter Isn't Even the Fifth Greatest Yankee of All-Time

A national newspaper recently asked if Derek Jeter were the greatest New York Yankee of all.

That question would be asked only by those individuals who never heard of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle or Yogi Berra  (pitchers not allowed).

The question's impetus was Jeter's 3,000th hit a few days ago, which made him the only Yankee to achieve that goal.

It is not worth comparing Jeter to Ruth and Gehrig. The former is considered the greatest player of all time—better that even Ty Cobb who, by the way, didn't have 3,000 hits.

No, Cobb had 4,187 hits. So much for Jeter's 3,003 hits.

Jeter has as much class as Joe DiMaggio. He has led an exemplary life. Reggie Jackson, who had some problems with Yankees management in the past, stated it best.

"I admire him so much. What's so amazing is the cleanliness of his image. It's impeccable… Just a class, class act."

Few individuals could equal Jeter's class. Lou Gehrig must be counted among them.

For the past few decades, the debate has been whether DiMaggio was greater than Mantle. Both were greater than Jeter.

Playing shortstop is more difficult than playing center field. DiMaggio was one of the greatest defensive outfielder ever, in the same class as Tris Speaker, Willie Mays and yes, Jimmy Piersall.

Mantle proved that he couldn't play shortstop, but his great speed, athletic ability, and great arm (until he was hurt in the 1957 World Series when Red Schoendienst fell on his right shoulder) allowed him to be an above-average defensive player.

Many consider Berra to be the greatest catcher of all time or at least no worse than second to Johnny Bench.

Berra was a better defensive catcher than Jeter was a defensive shortstop. He was a more dangerous hitter with more power and he was as great in the clutch as Jeter.  Just ask Don Newcombe.

Jeter has played on seven pennant winners and five World Champions. For players not New York Yankees, that would be unique, but not for Berra, Mantle, DiMaggio, Gehrig and Ruth.

Berra: 14 pennant winners and 10 World Champions, including the record five consecutive World Championships teams from 1949-53.

Mantle: 12 pennant winners and seven World Championships, including a record 18 World Series home runs.

DiMaggio: 10 pennant winners and nine World Championships.

Gehrig: Seven pennant winners and six World Championships.

Ruth: Seven pennant with the Yankees and three with the Boston Red Sox. Four World Championships with the Yankees and three with the Red Sox.

The following table compares the six greatest Yankees of all time.

Jeter:    .313 BA    .383 OBA    .449 SA    .832 OPS

Berra:    .285 BA    .348 OBA    .482 SA    .830 OPS

Mantle:    .298 BA    .421 OBA    .557 SA    .977 OPS

DiMaggio:    .325 BA    .398 OBA   .579 SA    .977 OPS

Gehrig:    .340 BA    .447 OBA   .632  SA  1.080 OPS

Ruth:    .342 BA   .474 OBA    .690 SA    1.164 OPS

Except for Berra, Jeter's offensive statistics aren't close to the others. Yes, the five who were better than Jeter were power hitters, but they rank among the greatest power hitters to ever play the game.

Jeter does rank among the game's greatest all-time hitters.

Until recently, Jeter was one of the great base-runners in the game, but so were Mantle and DiMaggio during their careers.

Ruth and Gehrig didn't have to be great base runners. They were great "trotters' when the pitch they hit went into the stands.

Those who rate Jeter as the greatest Yankee of all are doing a disservice to Jeter and to themselves.

Jeter, once again demonstrating his class and modesty, refuses to address the issue. He is right.

For Jeter, it is enough that he has more hits than any other Yankee. For Jeter, it is not quite enough that he has helped the Yankees win five World Championships.

Not knowing Jeter personally, but knowing Jeter from what has been written and from interviews with him, there is no doubt that winning another World Championship is as important, if not more important than getting his 3,000th hit.