Jeter Being Jeter

Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter is quietly having one of his best seasons in his career, and it is not all benefit to the supposed jet stream of the new Yankee Stadium.

Let’s start with the batting average. He is currently hitting .333 with 169 hits on the season, which leaves him on pace to end the season with 220 hits, according to ESPN.com projections. His .333 average is his personal best since his MVP-caliber 2006 season, when he hit .343. As most of you may recall, Jeter fell a few votes shy of winning the 2006 AL MVP award to Twins’ 1B Justin Morneau.

Jeter’s power has gone up significantly, as he has hit 16 homeruns this season, the most since he hit 19 homers in 2005. 11 of his 16 dingers have been at the new Yankee Stadium, but he has taken advantage. Jeter’s .479 slugging percentage is his highest since 2006 (.483).

Mr. November has been finding numerous ways to reach base. His on-base percentage currently lies at .398, his highest since 2006 (.417). Jeter has drawn 53 total walks this season (three intentional) and has taken one for the team four times too.

According to FanGraphs.com, Jeter’s wOBA (weighted on-base average) is .388, his highest since 2006 (.399). Jeter’s speed score this season is 5.0, which is better than what it was in 2007 (4.8) and in 2008 (4.6), according to FanGraphs.com. As stated by Baseball-Reference, Jeter has an OPS+ of 129, his highest since 2006 (132).

Jeter’s BB/K ratio is relatively low (.77), but his highest since 1999 (.78). Jeter’s strikeout percentage has also dropped significantly. His current strikeout percentage is 12.9%, a career low for him. To put it into comparison, Jeter’s next-lowest percentage was last season, when hit was 14.3%.

Jeter’s defense has been superb this season when put into comparison. Jeter made 30 errors in his last two seasons (18 in 2007, 12 in 2008), but has cut that total down to only 6 this season. His .987 fielding percentage is currently a career best for the perennial all-star.

FanGraphs.com says Jeter’s range has been tremendous. His range runs above average is 5.2, which is 8 points higher than it was last year and over 21 points higher than it was in 2007. Jeter’s UZR (ultimate zone rating) is a career-best 7.0, 22.3 points higher than it was in 2007. ESPN.com also says Jeter’s RF (range factor) is 4.06, his highest since 2006 (4.14).

What are the keys to Jeter’s success? Offensively, it is the switch in roles to leadoff hitter. Manager Joe Girardi decided to flip-flop Jeter and Johnny Damon in the batting order because of Jeter’s high GIDP total (24 in 2008, 21 in 2007). This season, Jeter has only grounded into 13 double plays. Jeter is hitting over .330 when he bats leadoff in the batting order this season.

What else makes Jeter the great hitter he is this season? Let’s examine the splits.

Jeter absolutely dominates against left-handed pitching with a .424 batting average and 1.077 OPS. Jeter’s power numbers are exceptionally high at home (11 HR, .502 SLG), but on the road, he is a .343 hitter with an OBP of .396.

Of late, Jeter has been on fire. He has a .360 batting average after the all-star break and is hitting .382 so far in the month of August.

And he is doing all of this at the age of 35, well past his prime, but he is still performing at a high level. It has nothing to do with him trying to earn a contract; it is simply Jeter being Jeter.

What seems to be lost in Jeter’s miraculous season is him climbing up the all-time list for Yankees milestones. He is 17 hits shy of tying Lou Gehrig for most hits in franchise history (2721) and 30 stolen bases shy of tying Ricky Henderson’s franchise mark of 326 stolen bases.

If Jeter can stay a Yankee for the rest of his career (he is eligible to hit the free agent market after next season) and stay healthy, he can break Mickey Mantle’s all-time game’s record (2401) in 2011. He already owns the all-time at-bats record (8532) and ranks tenth on the franchise homerun mark with 222 homers, tied with fellow Yankee great Don Mattingly.

In the mind of Derek Jeter, he knows he is near those milestones. He knows where he stands amongst the all-time Yankees. But the thing that makes Derek Jeter so great is that he doesn’t get overly focused regarding the feats. He doesn’t consider each hit to be “one step closer to Gehrig.” He thinks of each hit as “just another hit.” And that is what makes him Derek Jeter.