Is Derek Jeter a cheater?

                     My take on Derek Jeter's performance against the Tampa Bay Rays last night:  This morning on ESPN First Take, Skip Bayless said he's lost a little respect for Derek Jeter...but this time his expected ridiculousness mirrored the views of too many sports writers and fans.  There is not even an issue, Derek Jeter did NOT cheat, it is the UMPIRE's job to get the play right, to call the game correctly, but yes I will admit that A-rod or Manny would've been condemned by the media and the majority of fans for putting on a performance that deceives the umpires.  However, The umpire immediately awarded Jeter first base, Jeter was simply doing his job trying to get on base so the struggling New York Yankees would have a better chance to come back against the Rays.  Every other MLB player ever would've done the same thing, if not to that extent, and it's absurd that Derek Jeter is apparently expected to live up to some kind of higher standard.  Jeter did not cheat in any way, cheating implies that he broke the rules or enhanced his performance illegally or immorally, the umpires made a bad call and he did what he had to do so that they wouldn't reverse the call.  It's not like tennis or golf where you have to referee yourself, it's simply sportsmanship.  The Rays won the game any way, because the baseball Gods delivered justice in the matter, Jeter has never claimed to be better than anyone else.  He has never acted superior or judged others in MLB, he simply makes direct statements, tries extremely hard, has looks, has charisma, and is a leader on and off the field, which is why he has acquired so much respect over the years.  I for one, respect Jeter even moreso for being such a brilliant baseball player and doing whatever it takes to win, with diminishing skills and DH or retirement looming, he still finds a way to deliver in the clutch.  Jeter probably isn't even one of the top 50 players in the history of baseball, his talent has always been overrated, but he's a hall of famer, a winner, a leader, and a true New York Yankee and he should always be remembered as such.  





                           Derek Jeter is constantly voted by other MLB players in Sports Illustrated polls as the most overrated player in baseball, and I think that has a lot to do with how well-respected he is by the media, along with other teams general spite for the Yankees.  Derek Jeter is NOT the MOST overrated player in MLB (not a powerful statement) but he is ONE of the most overrated players in MLB, top 10 perhaps?  More insanely and to the point, as you've seen this year, who exactly is overrating Jeter?  Nobody seems to give him much respect in terms of his current ability and recent performance.  Sports writers across the country seem to bash him when its convenient.  He's been a good fielder some seasons, mediocre in others (not a real gold glover), he's never had much power, his average is never as good as people think (since '99), nor is his on base percentage, and anyone ( I MEAN anyone) would score 100 runs batting first or second in the New York Yankees lineup.  Based on this season alone, and his incredibly average stats, he is not a superstar PLAYER anymore.  It'd be hard to say that Jeter is one of the top 10 best shortstops in MLB at the end of this year, he's completely overpaid, and it'll be interesting to see how the Yankees handle his upcoming contract negotiations.  Like Tim Tebow, are Jeter's intangibles & leadership worth so much that the Yankees assume this season was an aberration statistically and give him another large contract ( Over-paying to an extreme extent based on performance alone)

                                  With all that said, Jeter has now become THE MOST UNDERRATED player in baseball.  Everything I stated in the previous paragraph is true, including the fact that he is still one of the more overrated players as well.  Confused?  I was too, until I figured out how to make sense of it all, and this was the only way to explain it.  His talent, ability, all-time greatness , overall stats, and aura have been OVERRATED by the majority of fans.  His leadership, value to the team, talent, ability, individual season performances and all-time greatness has been entirely UNDERRATED by sports writers and other MLB players.  For example, no sports columnists ever seem to bring up a few very important facts about Derek Jeter's career, like finishing top 5 in MVP voting in 3 different seasons, top 10 in 6 seasons, top 25 in 11 of his 14 seasons.   One year he wasn't in MVP voting was his first full season, when Jeter won the rookie of the year.  That means Derek Jeter has been one of the best 25, if not one of the best 10-15 players in baseball for most of his career.  Because Jeter does not hit home runs, he was robbed of an MVP award in 1998, when he clearly had the biggest impact on the pennant race but was not recognized as MVP because everyone knows he's not as talented as guys like Manny Ramirez or Ivan Rodriguez (at the time), in spite of being the best overall statistical player in terms of helping his team win games.  More impressively, 2006 was a joke, Justin Morneau was the best power hitter in the American League that season and helped the Twins make the playoffs.  Because Jeter was on such a vastly superior team, (talent-wise) and because sports writers across the country are biased in their hatred for the Yankees.  Jeter was the best player on the best team, he batted .343, with 97 rbis, 118 runs, a .417 obp, and 214 hits.  He also played well in the field, he won the gold glove (whether you think he deserved it or not is irrelevant) and got screwed.  Jeter should've won MVP in 2009, last year, if not for Joe Mauer having one of the best seasons a catcher has ever had.  However, he finished THIRD in the voting somehow, so he would not have finally won an MVP any way.  In 1999 Jeter has his best season statistically, .349 average, 104 rbis, 134 runs, .438 obp,  and 219 hits...yet he finished SIXTH in MVP voting.  However that season I feel it was much more justified, because he wasn't the most important player to his team, but if we're NOT handing out awards strictly based on statistics, than where are the MVP awards Jeter DESERVED to win?  Jeter won an all-star mvp and world series mvp in the same season, 2000.  Jeter's stats in the post-season, late season, and close-game situations are slightly below his average career stats, but in the playoffs or in a pennant race, Jeter would be facing the BEST of the best in pitching, and the most pressure.  He's not the most clutch player, but he's better than most with the pressure on.  Jeter also never won a batting title, but if you take player's home stadiums into account, and how they affect how many hits a player gets, Jeter would've won at least TWO batting titles in his career.   He has finished in the top 10 in batting average 9 times, top 10 in in runs scored 10 times, top 10 in hits 11 times...He is the all-time hits leader among shortstops and his .317 career batting average through the 2009 season ranks as the fifth-highest among active players. He has been among the American League (AL) leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years. He is the all-time Yankees hit leader, passing Hall of Fame member Lou Gherig in 2009.  Better than all those numbers (statistics are extremely important in baseball) is the fact that he's a WINNER.  Individual performances in particular games or with particular plays have been recalled and re-counted for years.  Jeters plays 100% all out all the time, but somehow gives extra effort in the biggest moments of the most important games.  He is Overrated, he is Underrated, he is loved and hated.  For those of you haters out there, remember that Derek Jeter didnt buy the Yankees their team or ruin baseball, baseball politics shouldn't affect your view of a great player.  However, Jeter lovers out there, He's had some spectacular seasons, but his consistency, clutch performance, and actual talent has always been sensationalized.  I am not a flip-flopper or one of the many media members who likes to live on both sides of the fence, I'm not contradicting myself, it's just that sometimes there's no ONE thing you can definitively state about any ONE person or player.  In this particular case, Derek Jeter is underrated by the general media (not the New York market in love with him) and he's scrutinized by opposing players whose collective careers couldn't hold Derek Jeter's jock strap.  New York Yankees fans, and even casual fans of baseball throughout America (and the rest of the world for that matter) seem to believe he's one of the best players in MLB history though, which is simply untrue.  As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

                          

                              Now that I'm going to be criticized and ostracized as some kind of Yankee lover, I would like to distance myself from the average Yankee fan.  I am not boastful of all the talent we've stolen from other teams through free agency, however I do not hold the declining competition in the MLB against the Yankees organization.  I do not hate the super high powered market teams for spending as much money as they can, it's the way MLB works these days, and it's the system they've been given.   MLB has done a horrible job of producing competetive baseball in a majority of cities and states throughout the country, there needs to be parody like the NFL (which is so popular because any team can win on any given sunday)  It's not really possible for small market teams to compete on a consistent basis.  Also some of the teams that now receive money from the Yankees, like the Royals and Pirates ( who have had 20 consecutive losing seasons) don't seem to spend the money on the baseball team or the product they put on the field.  The Pirates are actually making a profit even though they are about to lose 100 games.  Why would teams spend money on players and scouts and coaching when they can suck as much as they'd like and still make money as a business.  The Yankees put so much money into the Organization from the start, and now they are seeing the benefits, and making a ridiculous profit because they've invested in a growing business oppurtunity.  Baseball probably could use a salary cap (seems unlikely though) but more importantly, Commisioner Bud Selig needs to find a way to help MAKE small market teams ATTEMPT to be reasonable competitors each year.  In the NFL, every fan of every team has hope at the beginning of the season, MLB needs to figure out how to move in that direction.  I like the true Yankees, the team that wasn't entirely bought, that had good chemistry and won in spite of a lack of talent, like the '96 team, Paul O'neil will always be my favorite player.  I don't care much about MLB these days, and that's a shame.  A-rod had one fairly clutch post-season last year and the Yankees won in the end... but A-rod off of steroids hasn't been as amazing a player as he once was, and he STILL has so much to prove.  Winning on the highest paid, most talented team in MLB isn't as much of an accomplishment, especially when A-rod didn't really produce much in the actual World Series.  This is why Jeter's performances in 96-00 were more impressive... Sabathia is way more important to these Yankees any way.  

                                           NFL, thanks for returning, please don't leave me next season.