Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees own the best record in baseball at 93-52. It stands to reason, then, that at least a couple of the American League’s most valuable players should be donning pinstripes.
Indeed, two of them are: Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter. Although the first baseman may have the flashier stats, the shortstop is the Bombers’ MVP.
Over the past week, no player in baseball has been in the media’s spotlight as much this season as the Yankees’ captain, who collected the 2,722nd hit of his career and passed Lou Gehrig as the team’s all-time leader. But perhaps Jeter’s .330 batting average – good for fourth in the American League and his highest since 2006 — or his .345/.398/.479 line since the All-Star break are more deserving of attention.
Certainly, Teixeira has the power and run-producing numbers that voters gobble up like Cracker Jack when casting Most Valuable Player ballots. The $180 million man is second in the AL with 35 homers — and he may well own the long-ball crown by season’s end, because the leader, Carlos Pena, is done for the year with 39. Teixeira also stands atop the RBI leaderboard with 111. But his impact has, if anything, been slightly overrated this year due to his success in those two statistical categories.
If not for Jeter’s .397 on-base percentage, Teixeira would not have had as many opportunities to collect ribbies. While the switch-hitting Yellow Jacket is equally potent from both sides of the plate, his numbers have been significantly inflated by the bandbox that is the new Yankee Stadium. Specifically, Teixeira has a 1.016 OPS and 22 homers at home and an .846 mark with 13 jacks on the road, in roughly the same number of at-bats.
Jeter, conversely, has an .879 OPS at home and an .852 mark on the road, and he’s been equally effective at catalyzing New York’s relentless lineup no matter the ballpark. If you prefer sabermetrics, Jeter trounces Teixeira in VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), 59.8 to 41.4, providing further evidence that he has been the more valuable offensive asset.
Defensively, Yankees fans and Gold Glove voters have long overvalued Jeter’s fielding, largely due to his knack for making incredible backhanded plays, moving away from first base on the outfield grass. This year, they’ve been enamored with Teixeira’s ability to pick it at first — perhaps the result of watching Jason Giambi play the position like the Statue of Liberty.
In fact, the numbers indicate that Teixeira (-1.3 Ultimate Zone Rating) has been no better than average at first for New York, while Jeter (4.6 UZR at a much tougher position), somehow — at the age of 35 — has managed to improve his range toward the middle, and truly emerge as one of the best defensive shortstops in the American League.
Put that together, and Teixeira’s lofty power numbers notwithstanding, Jeter has been the leader of the Yankees this year – not just off the field, but on it as well.
