Quote:
Originally Posted by Seattle799
I don't think it's fair to compare Mike Schmidt and Derek Jeter... Schmidt won THREE MVP's. Jeter? zero. 
Sorry, I'm from Minnesota. |
Schmidt only came to mind because I remember that game so well. Frankly, it's my only "in person: impression of the guy, but I take it with a grain of salt because I know he had been great for so many years prior to those last couple. I think Jeter's 2013-2014 stats fall into that "grain of salt" category.
I've never been a Jeter or Yankee lover, but not a hater either... and I do genuinely think he's a guy who will never be fully defined by his numbers and/or awards. It's becoming cliche, but I really think his intangibles--confidence/calmness/smarts/toughness, that he brought and maintained every day for 20 years equaled many many wins for the Yanks.. though of course this can never be measured or broken down by anything found on Baseball Reference. As a quick aside, though I love stats, I really hope they don't completely replace eyes, ears, gut feel when assessing baseball greatness/talent.
Jeter is the real deal.