I am a New Yorker, so I see D.J. play everyday. I am a proponent of the idea D.J. is only slightly over-rated. Defensively, he does not go to his left very well, and to the right I'd say pretty well. His arm from the position throwing to first, or to second from the hole, is quite good. However, his arm on the relay home or to third lacks. His instincts and determination, and his willingness to sacrifice his body to make a play are what the New Yorkers see everyday. It is for that reason that these debates and statistical formulas will never fly with the Yankee fan. They will just not listen to that. By prefacing "them" by "they", I admittedly am not a Yankee fan. I'm a Mets fan. I do not think Derek is the worst by any stretch of the imagination. I do think he is a bit over rated. I have a very high degree of respect for Derek and his game. He's done big things in big games. He has 4 rings. And he is a hit machine....but that is another topic. Before I started rambling, this did start out as a defensive analysis. He could play SS anytime for me. Jeter and to a larger degree Yankee bias feuls such debates. Whatever though, I am a Mets fan.

I've been saying all along that Baseball is the greatest and most beautiful sport ever invented by man. Now, a few players, not satisfied with their own God-given greatness, decided to take an illegal and unsportsmanlike step with the use of enhancing substances. I think the culprits should be banned from the sport for life. If we don't punish the bad guys emphatically, the problem will continue to the detriment of all of us, players and fans; and the sport has been soiled as an era of cheaters.

What does this moralizing have to do with Derek Jeter's defense?

Leco, I'm calling your lie. You would take Jeter today over Reyes at SS? In NY only a Yankee fan would say that, period.

I would like to call Jeter one of the best shortstops ever, but I can't. Nobody can, at this point. But people seem to talk like that means he's overrated. He's not. What he is, is one of the best shortstops ever - in clutch situations. In the playoffs, he steps it up when he needs to. That's where I think Jeter's legacy will be and that's a great thing to be remembered as. A good offensive player that can be defensively fantastic in the clutch... yeah, I'd take that on my team any day.

What everyone fails to mention in this whole debate is the statistical analysis of measuring Derek Jeter and his responsibility to bang supermodels. I don't see David Eckstein having to hold the same weight as Jeter. Jeter carries much more responsibilities to society than just playing Shortstop.
You can't measure that with numbers. Baseball numbers, not phone numbers. Having hot passionate sex the night before can affect your defence, you know.
Therefore I'd like to give Mr. New York the benefit of the doubts.

^ Talk about getting off topic!

1. As a baseball player, Derek Jeter is probably the most valuable player who plays shortstop for his team. He is probably one of the top 20 most valuable baseball players who plays shortstop.

2. The reason why the wording was so awkward above is that Derek Jeter's abilities as a baseball player dwarf his abilities to play a strong defensive shortstop. If you were able to platoon players offense and defense, like in football, Jeter would not likely be able to hold a spot on the defensive side of the field. There are at least two dozen better defensive shortstops actually playing as regular shortstops in the majors (by this, I mean players who turn batted balls into outs) and there have to be dozens more who don't have the ability to hit major league pitching who can play defense - guys like Rafael Belliard in his day.

Derek Jeter is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and one of the best players in Major League Baseball. But he isn't a good defensive player.

Larry

Larry nailed it. That's it exactly. He's a great, great hitter (and good baserunner). He can play SS, but not well (and probably not much longer). He will go to the HoF, and deserves it, but like most players he's not flawless.