Derek Jeter is going to retire, and the question becomes where does he rank on the list of greatest "shortstops" ever. And one thing that comes up is just how long Jeter played short - that he played short his entire career.
Derek Jeter is the greediest shortstop ever.
Consider. In 2004, Alex Rodriguez comes to New York. He is a two time gold glove award winner. In the previous two seasons he was 1.0 and 1.6 wins above replacement on Defense at short. And as for Jeter...he was -0.6 and -0.9.
Now, if this is the situation, what do you? You'd think Jeter would move to 2nd. Nope. He was the captain, he wasn't going to move.
So A-Rod goes and becomes a third baseman. And plays a good third base. But he's selfish and evil. Not like Cap'n Jetes... who wouldn't move for the good of the team in his late 20s.
Nor would move in his 30s to Centerfield like Robin Yount.
Jeter is a great player - he's a great hitter. He played with zeal. But he had very, very little range. But he insisted on staying at short stop. Fangraphs says he cost his team 25.7 runs. Baseball Reference - 9.2 wins. Either way, not great in the field.
He would have been a great 2nd baseman, or a great Center fielder or Left fielder. He would have been a great team player at those positions... shifting to where his team was weak.
Nope. He's a shortstop. The greediest shortstop ever.
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