Tim Kurkjian and the greatest SS's

[jhs5120]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

Oh, I'm going to get into the Jeter vs Griffey Jr discussion. There is no comparison between them. Ken Griffey Jr may be one of the top 5 offensive players of the last 50 years. Jeter..isn't.

Here's something to chew on.

Seasons with 100 + strikeouts:
Derek Jeter 9
Ken Griffey Jr 5

Career home runs:
Derek Jeter 259
Ken Griffey Jr 630

Derek Jeter is 14th all-time in strikeouts. How does a guy who has hit more than 20 home runs in a season 3 times have 1,819 strike outs?

Oh yes, we're going to dive deeply into this.

I don't think it is fair at all to compare two players ONLY using home runs and strikeouts. I think everyone here will agree.

Besides, Ken Griffey Jr. struck out MORE that Derek Jeter did. Griffey struck out 1,779 times in 11,304 plate appearances; or 15.7% of the time. Jeter struck out 1,819 times in 12,435 plate appearances; or 14.6% of the time. The amount of 100+ strike out seasons is as relevant as the amount of 172 hit season. It isn't relevant at all.

Here is a comparison of the two players over their 162 game average:

Hits:
Derek Jeter: 205
Ken Griffey Jr.: 169

Runs:
Derek Jeter: 115
Ken Griffey Jr.: 101

Doubles:
Derek Jeter: 32
Ken Griffey Jr.: 32

Home Runs:
Derek Jeter: 15
Ken Griffey Jr.: 38

RBI:
Derek Jeter: 77
Ken Griffey Jr.: 111

Stolen Bases:
Derek Jeter: 21
Ken Griffey Jr.: 11

Strike Outs
Derek Jeter: 109
Ken Griffey Jr.: 108

Batting Average:
Derek Jeter: .311
Ken Griffey Jr.: .284

OPS:
Derek Jeter: .821
Ken Griffey Jr.: .907

The two are nearly identical except Griffey hit more home runs, Jeter hit more singles and stole more bases. It's a toss up as to which a coach would prefer. From purely a statistical standpoint, Derek Jeter wins out. He has a marginally higher Offensive WAR, but it's so close that it's almost negligible. Personally, I would take Jeter because he plays shortstop, but they would both help a team.