Jeter's 2000th Hit

When You've Got *It*
Jeter's 2000th hit was a dribbler in a loss to the Royals, but they scored it a hit.


Here's a funny bit in the article:

The Yankees were down by three runs and the fans were up on their feet cheering because Jeter was the one they came to see. He is No. 1 in the fans' hearts, and by the time he is finished he may be No. 1 on the Yankees' career hits list. Jeter took a notable step in that direction with a dribbler in the fourth.

Paul Bako, the Royals' catcher, fielded Jeter's ball, but his throw sailed over the head of the first baseman, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Jeter went to second. After a pause of several seconds that heightened the drama of the moment, the ruling came down: The official scorer in the press box awarded Jeter a hit and charged Bako with an error. That is how Jeter became the eighth Yankee to reach 2,000 hits, joining Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Bernie Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Don Mattingly and Yogi Berra.

Jeter's parents, Dorothy and Charles, were in the stands. As the official scorer deliberated, a television camera caught Jeter's mother mouthing to his father that the play was an "error."

"It's a good thing she wasn't scoring," said Jeter, who also singled in the seventh to finish 2 for 3 with two walks.

The there's this bit which is really interesting as an insight by his long-time teammate Bernie Williams:

Jeter insisted he does not pay attention to individual statistics, that the only thing he cares about is winning. Williams is convinced that that is true but he also believes this: "I think he has a side of him that he doesn't really show anybody.

"I'm thinking in some ways he's reluctant to show somewhat his human side. I think the expectations are so big on him to lead this club on a mental level, on a performance level, on a physical level, that I think he feels he needs to put almost a superhuman shield on."

The shield was firmly in place when Jeter was asked about the prospect of reaching 3,000 hits. "That is a long, long, long ways away," he said.

Maybe 2,000 hits is not a monumental accomplishment in baseball. But one got the sense last night that people were celebrating Jeter, the person, as much as Jeter, the player.

Well, yeah.
Wasn't it owner George Steinbrenner no less, who said that if he could come back as somebody, he'd like to come back as Derek Jeter?

Jorge!
Here's an article on Jorge Posada.

CAREER based on 2,000 PA
All catchers

OBP
1. Mike Piazza .383
2. Jason Kendall .382
3. Jorge Posada .375
4. Jason Varitek .350
5. Ivan Rodriguez .343
6. Gregg Zaun .342
7. Javier Lopez .340
8. Mike Lieberthal .339
9. Paul Lo Duca .339
10. Damian Miller .332

For me, this was the clincher: Career OBP since the year 1900 for catchers with over 3,500 at bats. Posada ranks 8th all-time.

CAREER OPB
MODERN (1900-)
All catchers

OBP
1. Mickey Cochrane .419
2. Wally Schang .396
3. Roger Bresnahan .385
4. Mike Piazza .383
5. Jason Kendall .382
6. Bill Dickey .382
7. Rick Ferrell .378
8. Jorge Posada .375
9. Gabby Hartnett .370
10. Spud Davis .369

In fact, Peter Ridges of the Society of Baseball Research (SABR) computed a variety of updates to Bill James' ranking system. According to Ridges work, Posada currently stands as the 14th-greatest catcher of all time.

Now, I am not going so far to say Jorge is THAT good. But some people who are a lot smarter than me seem to think he is … so it bears mention. After all, there is a REASON why Jorge was on the cover of the 2005 Bill James Handbook.

He is "teh Awesome". No, that's not a typo. :)