Jeter's Success Shines Light on Rose

It was an emotional moment in the Bronx on Saturday.  Derek Jeter emphatically delivered his 3,000^th hit with a home run to deep left field as part of his 5-for-5 day at the plate. 

Magical.  Historic.  Overblown.  Call it what you want, but it helped fortify the legendary status of Jeter as an all-time great.

When the ball left the yard, 48,103 Yankee’s fans in attendance rejoiced.  But I…I had only one thought at that moment.  A seemingly illogical thought that no Yankees fan had the foresight to consider.

Pete Rose is amazing.

Before you bash me for poor timing, take a look below at a snapshot of the two future Hall of Fame careers (a bit presumptuous).

A few things pop out from this data.  Yes, Pete Rose has played 7+ seasons more than Jeter.  Yes, Jeter holds a better career batting average than Rose.  Those points cannot be argued (or won’t be today).

And honestly, I was a bit surprised to discover that, through the age of 36, these two shared very similar numbers (Jeter: 194.27 hits/season, Rose: 197.73 hits/season).

But that is where the comparison ends.  The chart below displays the year-by-year hit totals for the two players.

2011 has been a dreadful campaign for Jeter, who has battled injury and the pressures of reaching 3,000.  His will certainly establish a new career low in hits.  But how can you blame a guy who is 37 and in his 17^th major league season?  That’s what happens to old people…or at least it should.

But Pete Rose defied the laws of aging.  Not only did Rose collect 208 hits at the age of 38, he also accumulated 1,092 hits after hitting that golden age.  It wasn’t until the age of 42 that Rose had a sub-140 hit season as Jeter is on pace to do this season. 

Few actually project that Jeter has much left in the tank.  Others speculate that the Yankees themselves may give up on Jeter before he is ready to go.  In a SI.com article by Joe Sheehan, Jeter is projected to collect another 322 hits in his career, placing him at 3,330 for his career and 11th on the career list.

But the truth is, no matter if or where Jeter plays in the coming seasons, it will be impossible for the aging shortstop to keep pace with Rose.  That's no knock on Jeter's career, but a testament to the durability of the best hitting catcher in baseball history.

Russell Martin, Really?

UPDATE: Fans righted the ship in the final days of voting by pushing Alex Avila into the starting catchers role for the American League.

The MLB All-Star Game is meaningless. I will be the first to admit that. Even the league recognizes this after ending the 2002 classic in a thrilling 7-7 tie.

But the selections do matter. When players' careers are remembered and evaulated in retrospect, All-Star selections play a key role in their legacies. Fair or not, it serves as a metric to a players worth when compared to their peers.

That's why I am taking exception to a likely participant in this season's Midsummer Classic, Yankee's catcher and leading vote-getter Russell Martin. Look below at the statistics for three of the leading candidates to start behind the plate for the American League.

	AVG	HR	RBI	OBP	CS%
Alex Avila	0.299	10	46	0.369	0.379
Russell Martin	0.224	10	34	0.331	0.271
Victor Martinez	0.332	6	46	0.38	0.219

The data clearly shows that Martin's performance this season has been subpar in comparison with Martinez and Avila, who are both having exceptional seasons. Not only is Martin's average down, he also has the fewest runs batted in, despite playing for the leagues’ most potent offense.

10 other catchers in the American League have collected more hits than Martin this season, including the likes of Yorvit Torrealba (Rangers), Miguel Olivo (Mariners), and Jorge Posada (Yankees, DH/C). He has also surrendered the third most stolen bases in the AL (43).

I am not blaming Martin, nor will I criticize a system that allows fans to vote their favorite players into the game. I am blaming Yankee's fans, who are too ignorant to realize that the anchor of their defense is an average player in the midst of the worst season of his career.

If anything, Martin should be embarrassed by the selection. I would be.