Jeter's MVP on all levels
Jeter's MVP on all levels
Huge contributions on and off the field
Sep. 19, 2006. 06:25 AM
RICHARD GRIFFIN
Yankee captain Derek Jeter looked bad in his first three at-bats against the Jays in last night's series opener. Then, in the seventh, with a runner on second, he drove a 3-0 A.J. Burnett offering into the centre-field stands for a lead the Yankees never gave back. Performance when it counts.
"I got the green light," Jeter said. "(Burnett) is not fun to face. His stuff is as good as anyone in baseball. If he stays healthy, there's no limit to what he can do."
The blast reduced Jeter's magic number to reach 100 RBIs to five. But, more importantly, the win reduced the Yankees' magic number to clinch the AL East to just three over the idle Red Sox.
"It just gets us closer to where we want to be," Jeter said of the impact of his home run.
The key word is "we." There is no question that, despite what Red Sox' slugger David Ortiz argues, the AL MVP this year should be Jeter.
Sure, the Yankee captain doesn't have the raw offensive numbers to match Big Papi, Justin Morneau or Jermaine Dye, but his contributions to winning go far beyond the numbers.
Jeter sits with a .340 average — 14 homers and 95 RBIs — nice but not monstrous power numbers. Beyond that, he is a calming extension on the field and in the clubhouse in much the same way as his manager Joe Torre.
The classy way Jeter handled last week's Ortiz diatribe against his MVP candidacy was typical Jeter, pointing out that, as a Yankee, team goals are more important and then, on the weekend, interacting with Ortiz on the field at Yankee Stadium like a friend. End of controversy.
There is no jealousy emanating from Jeter with regard to any of his teammates. And if any of the baser emotions are hinted at by the media reporting on the Bombers, issues are quickly defused by Torre and/or his clubhouse equivalent, Jeter.
There is something supremely confident about a Yankee clubhouse. They arrived in the wee, wee hours of Sunday, exhausted after back-to-back doubleheaders against the Red Sox, bloodied from three losses, but unbowed. You wouldn't know it.
"These guys were in a great mood today," Torre said.
"I was thinking about resting guys, but the coaches said no. It's not the message we want to send."
So they all played. You didn't hear excuses. Just do it.
The Yankees have had 14 players on the DL, led by outfielders Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui. Second baseman Robinson Cano missed 40 games. A-Rod has slumped badly at times and Randy Johnson has recorded 17 wins despite a 4.93 ERA.
Yet here they sit, about to clinch the AL East for the 10th time in 11 seasons, with the other result being a wild card and a '97 World Series win.
Not coincidentally, the Yankees' 11-year playoff run corresponds exactly with Jeter's career at shortstop and Torre's as Yankee skipper.
Barring injury, the 32-year-old Jeter, five years after he retires, is headed to the hall of fame. He has a World Series and an All-Star MVP, but never the regular-season hardware. This should be Jeter's time.
His campaign talking points are simple. A normal-looking guy doing normal-looking things — only better. It would be a great response to baseball's distressing steroid scandals.
I was a Yankee hater until the late-'90s World Series. The easiest thing to hate was that they always seemed to be buying their stairway to heaven. The hardest thing was to enter a clubhouse with guys like Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams and Jeter and dislike them. They played the game right and Williams and Jeter are the holdovers.
There are those who still believe that the New York influenced media will win it for Jeter. In fact, the opposite is true. Since Don Mattingly captured AL MVP in 1985, A-Rod in '05 is the only other Yankee MVP.
Voters may resent the Yankees believing they buy greatness, but just remember that Jeter is homegrown.
Besides, my daughter Kelly in her room at university has four pictures of Jeter and only one of me. If I'm going to be trumped, let it be by an AL MVP.
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved.
Huge contributions on and off the field
Sep. 19, 2006. 06:25 AM
RICHARD GRIFFIN
Yankee captain Derek Jeter looked bad in his first three at-bats against the Jays in last night's series opener. Then, in the seventh, with a runner on second, he drove a 3-0 A.J. Burnett offering into the centre-field stands for a lead the Yankees never gave back. Performance when it counts.
"I got the green light," Jeter said. "(Burnett) is not fun to face. His stuff is as good as anyone in baseball. If he stays healthy, there's no limit to what he can do."
The blast reduced Jeter's magic number to reach 100 RBIs to five. But, more importantly, the win reduced the Yankees' magic number to clinch the AL East to just three over the idle Red Sox.
"It just gets us closer to where we want to be," Jeter said of the impact of his home run.
The key word is "we." There is no question that, despite what Red Sox' slugger David Ortiz argues, the AL MVP this year should be Jeter.
Sure, the Yankee captain doesn't have the raw offensive numbers to match Big Papi, Justin Morneau or Jermaine Dye, but his contributions to winning go far beyond the numbers.
Jeter sits with a .340 average — 14 homers and 95 RBIs — nice but not monstrous power numbers. Beyond that, he is a calming extension on the field and in the clubhouse in much the same way as his manager Joe Torre.
The classy way Jeter handled last week's Ortiz diatribe against his MVP candidacy was typical Jeter, pointing out that, as a Yankee, team goals are more important and then, on the weekend, interacting with Ortiz on the field at Yankee Stadium like a friend. End of controversy.
There is no jealousy emanating from Jeter with regard to any of his teammates. And if any of the baser emotions are hinted at by the media reporting on the Bombers, issues are quickly defused by Torre and/or his clubhouse equivalent, Jeter.
There is something supremely confident about a Yankee clubhouse. They arrived in the wee, wee hours of Sunday, exhausted after back-to-back doubleheaders against the Red Sox, bloodied from three losses, but unbowed. You wouldn't know it.
"These guys were in a great mood today," Torre said.
"I was thinking about resting guys, but the coaches said no. It's not the message we want to send."
So they all played. You didn't hear excuses. Just do it.
The Yankees have had 14 players on the DL, led by outfielders Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui. Second baseman Robinson Cano missed 40 games. A-Rod has slumped badly at times and Randy Johnson has recorded 17 wins despite a 4.93 ERA.
Yet here they sit, about to clinch the AL East for the 10th time in 11 seasons, with the other result being a wild card and a '97 World Series win.
Not coincidentally, the Yankees' 11-year playoff run corresponds exactly with Jeter's career at shortstop and Torre's as Yankee skipper.
Barring injury, the 32-year-old Jeter, five years after he retires, is headed to the hall of fame. He has a World Series and an All-Star MVP, but never the regular-season hardware. This should be Jeter's time.
His campaign talking points are simple. A normal-looking guy doing normal-looking things — only better. It would be a great response to baseball's distressing steroid scandals.
I was a Yankee hater until the late-'90s World Series. The easiest thing to hate was that they always seemed to be buying their stairway to heaven. The hardest thing was to enter a clubhouse with guys like Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams and Jeter and dislike them. They played the game right and Williams and Jeter are the holdovers.
There are those who still believe that the New York influenced media will win it for Jeter. In fact, the opposite is true. Since Don Mattingly captured AL MVP in 1985, A-Rod in '05 is the only other Yankee MVP.
Voters may resent the Yankees believing they buy greatness, but just remember that Jeter is homegrown.
Besides, my daughter Kelly in her room at university has four pictures of Jeter and only one of me. If I'm going to be trumped, let it be by an AL MVP.
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved.
posted by Walking Contradiction at 3:49 AM
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