Last winter the Yankees and Jeter had trouble agreeing to a new contract. They finally agreed, but not after some spats from both sides. This spring it looks like there will be another Jeter dilemma. Dilemma number two will be where to put him in the lineup, 1 or 2. Last year Jeter batted lead off and had one of his worst years statistically. The year before he batted there also and had one of his best years statistically. The problem is that he's not getting any younger and players decline with age, not improve. The Yankees have a young, blazing fast left fielder in Brett Gardner who would be a much more logical choice at lead off, but manager Joe Girardi might still go with Jeter at the top. Why? According to Girardi, the Yankees signed Jeter to be a lead off man. Now I don't know the terms of the contract, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing written about how Jeter must be lead off man throughout the life of the contract. What I do know, though, is that if Girardi goes with Jeter on top it will be a very foolish decision.
Historically speaking Derek Jeter is a # 2 hitter. Jeter only started hitting lead off everyday a few years ago, and I could see why. Early 30's Jeter was a .300 hitter with good speed, knew how to get on base, and didn't have a lot of power. He was the definition of a typical lead off hitter. But times have changed and Jeter is now mid 30's Jeter. His first year of this part of career did not scream lead off man. His numbers were down across the board, but they weren't really that bad. He hit .270 with 10 homers, 67 RBIs, 18 steals, and a .340 on-base percentage. To me, these are 2 hole numbers. The average could be better, but the main job of the #2 guy is to continue the trend of the lead off guy and got on base before the heart of the order comes up. The only real difference between 1 and 2 is how often you get on base, and while Jeter's average and OBP were decent they were not good enough to lead off. They were good enough to bat behind the lead off man. Brett Gardner was the man who had better lead off numbers last year.
Gardner hit .277 with 5 homers, 47 RBIs, 47 steals, and a .379 OBP. While the average should be a ways higher for a lead off man, the .379 OBP and 47 steals is what makes Gardner fit for the top spot. He is a patient hitter with young, fast legs that can fly around the bases and cause havoc for opposing teams. He is the type of player you want leading off games, not batting las. Russell Martin has above average speed for a catcher, have him bat last. Batting first in the lineup, logically, gets you more at bats per game because you see your first at bat in the first inning not third or fourth. Getting Gardner more at bats will increase his steal numbers and possibly his average and OBP numbers. It could also decrease these numbers, but with Jeter's numbers already decreasing I think it's worth the risk to put Gardner atop the Yankee lineup for the whole season.
In conclusion, I think the rest of Yankee Universe would like to see Gardner at the top of order as well. If Girardi goes with Jeter, the likely thing that will happen, and Jeter starts repeating his numbers from last year, then the fans will definitely want to see a change atop the order. I think fans will be more lenient if Gardner struggles a bit on top because he can cover up his struggles with the ability to get on base frequently and then stealing lots of bases. In reality, Gardner was only 4% more efficient than Jeter in the OBP category, but baseball is not a reality sport In baseball that 4% is a lot. The first Jeter Dilemma was handled in favor of the New York Yankees. Now let's hope the second dilemma is handled in favor of the New York Yankees as well. Because the reality is that...for once...Derek Jeter is not the best option in this scenario.
References
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6228324
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=3246
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=29174
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