Originally Posted by the 'stache
I didn't say he wasn't a Hall of Famer. I said he shouldn't be a first ballot, 100% vote getter. If I had a vote, I would wait until the second ballot. Would I be a moron? He's not the greatest to ever play his position. Not even close.
He was a real good player. He's nowhere near an immortal. He's not in the class of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio or Mantle. Not even freaking close. He was a shortstop that hit for real good average. Had pretty good speed. Decent power. Awful defensively, and he struck out way, way too much for a guy with his middle-of-the-pack power, and didn't walk. 1,082 walks in 12,602 PAs is putrid, as is 1,840 strikeouts.
He led the league in runs scored twice, and hits twice. That's it. For a twenty year career, a first ballot Hall of Famer should be more dominating than that. And a unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer? LOL. Please.
He never won a batting title. Never won an MVP. Only three top 5 MVP finishes for a guy that was "the face of baseball", on the most visible team in pro sports, a team that was consistently in the World Series during his career. Yawn. When I read discussions about players in other sports, those things matter. When goalies are debated for the Hockey Hall of Fame, "did they win a Vezina Trophy? If not, they can still get in, but shouldn't be on the first ballot. Jeter was never the best player in the game, or in his league. And it can be argued he wasn't even the best at his position.
He had a 72.4 career WAR. That's 88th all-time. Mike Trout who is a great player, has more WAR in 9 years than Jeter had in 20. Larry Walker, who is on his final ballot, in three fewer years, had .3 more WAR. Walker won three batting titles. Led the league in home runs once. Led the league in on base twice. Slugging twice. OPS twice. Had a season with 400 total bases. And it wasn't Coors doing that. His 1997 MVP season, when he hit .366 with a league leading 49 home runs, slashing .452/.720/1.172 (all led the NL)--here are his splits:
Home: 20 HR, .460 OBP/.709 SLG/1.169 OPS
Away: 29 HR, .443 OBP/.733 SLG/1.176 OPS
He was better on the road than at Coors. But the narrative is that he was a product of the thin air.
Walker's career OPS +, which factors in ballpark, was 141. Jeter's was 115. Walker, unlike Jeter, was actually a pretty good fielder when he won those seven Gold Gloves. Jeter...was not.
Yet Larry Walker, a "product of Coors Field" who had a composite 137 OPS+ his last three years in Montreal, is on the ballot for the last time. He may not get in. Yet Captain Ame....I mean, Jeter, will be a unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer?
What a joke.
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