A Closer Look at Derek Jeter Vs. Jose Reyes

This is a response to Jose Reyes Vs Derek Jeter Who is the Best Shortstop in New York? by Lee Andrew published on October 11, 2006.

Let me start by saying I'm a Mets fan and that Lee and I frequently comment positively on each other's articles. But it pains me to say that his conclusion, that Reyes is just as valuable this season as Jeter, is wrong.

Now, I'm as sick of the Derek Jeter hype machine as anyone else. I can't stand all of the people who wanted to give him so much credit for being clutch and leading the Yankees to their great run of four World Series titles in five years, glossing over the contribution of Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and others.

But in 2006, Jeter had a great season. He had his finest offensive year since 1999, batting .343 with a .417 on-base percentage and a .483 slugging mark. Ah, on-base percentage - that's what my buddy Lee refuses to see as Jeter's advantage. He wrote about on-base percentage that it "is one of the new hip ways of judging if a player is any good."

Well, on-base percentage is anything but new. In Alan Schwarz' terrific book, "The Numbers Game: Baseball's lifelong fascination with statistics" he shows that on-base percentage dates back at least to the 1950's, when Branch Rickey and Allan Roth used the statistic to evaluate hitters on the Dodgers. While the modern public thinks of on-base percentage as a recent creation, due to the attention placed on it by the A's and the book "Moneyball", it actually has roots back to 1879, when the National League introduced a stat called Reached First Base, which rewarded batters for every time they got on base via hit, walk or error.

Lee's case is that Jeter's 63-point lead in on-base percentage is negated by Reyes' advantage in other categories, specifically slugging and base running. Now, Lee tried to pull a fast one, using Jeter's 2005 season as a comparison to Reyes' 2006 season, reasoning that they were both leadoff men that season. That point is true, but Jeter also had an on-base percentage that season 26 points below what he posted in 2006, which is certainly significant to the argument.