Derek Jeter has played 2,361 games in his major league career, to date.
In 1,381 of those games, he had PA>=4 and H<=1. See below:
| Rk | #Matching | PA | AB | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1381 | Ind. Games | 6331 | 5456 | 902 |
In 871 of those games, he had PA>=4 and H>=2. See below:
| Rk | #Matching | PA | AB | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 871 | Ind. Games | 4253 | 3898 | 2035 |
If you have tickets for Saturday’s game, you still have a shot at seeing #3,000.
You did a great job when Jeter passed the Iron Horse – allowing the video and crowd reaction to tell the story after it happened. Please do the same when he gets hit #3,000.
Via Mark Hale -
Mark Teixeira isn’t sure why his batting average has plummeted to such a miserable level.
“The weird thing is, someone told me I’m putting the ball in play more than I have in my career,” he said last night. “Sometimes they just don’t fall.”
In the Yankees’ 5-1 loss to the Rays last night, Teixeira went 0-for-2 with two walks, dropping his average to .241, his lowest since mid-April. He is perilously close to the .230s, not what’s expected from a $180 million player who came into the season with a career average of .286.
From his first season in the major leagues in 2003 through his first season in pinstripes in 2009 (a year in which he hit .292), his career average was .290. But last season, Teixeira plummeted to .256. and his current .241 mark is his lowest since he was at .226 on April 19. Since June 1, he’s batting .215 (26-for-121).
Teixeira said driving in runs and getting on base are most important to him. And in that respect, Teixeira is faring fine.
He entered yesterday ranked ninth in the AL in slugging percentage, and after last night that mark stood at a strong .520, thanks primarily to his 25 homers (he’s on pace for 47). And he has 65 RBIs, on pace for 122, which would tie for the second most in his career. His on-base percentage is a respectable .348, and he has drawn 46 walks, second to Nick Swisher on the team.
Asked if he would prefer to hit 45 homers and bat .240 than to hit 30 homers and bat .270, Teixeira replied: “If the RBIs are the same. For me, [it's] RBIs and walks.”
Nevertheless, Teixeira has not hit a homer in seven July games and has gone 29 at-bats since his last longball. His batting average is the third lowest by a Yankees regular, after Russell Martin (.220) and Jorge Posada (.237).
Teixeira said he believes opposing scouting has hurt him, citing the shift that has been employed for several years now. He also said he doesn’t think of himself as a .240 hitter.
“But at the same time,” he said, “I’m not going to complain about the home runs, the RBIs, the walks.”
Here are the numbers on Tex through last night:
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | HR | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Seasons | 1303 | 5726 | 300 | .283 | .375 | .535 | .910 | 134 | |||
| 162 Game Avg. | 162 | 712 | 37 | .283 | .375 | .535 | .910 | 134 | |||
| TEX (5 yrs) | 693 | 3006 | 153 | .283 | .368 | .533 | .901 | 128 | |||
| NYY (3 yrs) | 399 | 1795 | 97 | .267 | .369 | .523 | .891 | 133 | |||
| ATL (2 yrs) | 157 | 691 | 37 | .295 | .395 | .548 | .943 | 146 | |||
| LAA (1 yr) | 54 | 234 | 13 | .358 | .449 | .632 | 1.081 | 180 | |||
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When I see those, I think “Dude should be a two-eighty hitter, at the least, no?”
And, yes, I dig the walks and the homers too. But, when this guy is hitting .240 or .250, given what he’s done in the past and what he’s getting paid, he should be embarrassed by that.
Check the numbers. To date, the Yankees are 51-35.
However, they are 13-5 in interleague play and 13-5 (so far) when playing the A.L. West (which, someone recently said, is like playing a National League team…I think it was Kevin Kernan, but, I could be wrong),
Take out that 26-10 against N.L. and A.L. West teams and the Yankees are 25-25 against everyone else.
Of course, yes, wins against N.L. teams and A.L. West teams count just as much as wins against anyone else. The real issue here is that the Yankees have zero interleague games left and not that many left against A.L. West teams. So, does this mean the Yankees will play .500 ball from here out?
If they did that – meaning go 38-38 from here – it would give them 89 wins on the season. And, that’s not going to get you into October, is it?
Don’t look now, but, the Yankees have lost 4 of their last 5 games. (Prior to this, they won 23 out of 31 games.) Could be a small hiccup. Then again, it could be that June was a fluke. What do you think?
A great point on Derek Jeter via Joe Posnanski -
Derek Jeter will not be remembered for reaching 3,000 hits. None of them are. That’s not how it works. Each of the 27 men who have batted safely three thousand times in a career is known for something else, something visceral, something that inflames the memory. Clemente’s arm. Ripken’s daily persistence. Rickey beating the tag. Mays’ hat flying off. Yaz’s stance. Musial breaking out of the box. Aaron’s unassuming home run trot. Cobb’s sharpened spikes. Rose in head-first flight …
Any day now, Derek Jeter will become the 28th man to reach 3,000 hits. And Jeter, like the rest, won’t be remembered for that. Hey, how do you remember 3,000 anything? You don’t. Nobody remembers the sales figures. With Jeter, people cannot help but remember the moments because there were so many moments and we saw them all.
That’s the big part, I think. We saw them all. Jeter is almost unquestionably the most SEEN player in baseball history. Baseball used to be shrouded in mystery. How many people really saw Babe Ruth play? Mickey Mantle? Frank Robinson? Players were names in box scores. They were grainy black and white photographs in the local paper. There were static-speckled images on the Game of the Week.
Now you can watch any game or any highlight any night. You can see the plays in what the announcers call “stunning high definition” … and it is stunning. High def can look more vivid than reality. There is nothing about Derek Jeter’s game left to the imagination. Jeter has played lead guitar on the most indomitable team of this open era. He has come to the plate 679 times in the postseason, and that is a record. His flip to beat Jeremy Giambi, his stunt-man leap into the stands, his November home run, everybody knows those, these are among the indelible baseball images of of our time. But it’s more than that. We know exactly how he looks in the on-deck circle, how he runs out to the field, how he sits on the bench. We know the models he dated. We know the quotes by heart. We can close our eyes and see Derek Jeter doing everyday things: the inside-out singles to right, the jump throw from the hole, the futile diving stabs at ground balls hit to his left, the all-out sprint to beat out ground balls to first …
No, Derek Jeter will not be remembered for 3,000 hits. There is too much else to remember.
The other day, Mike Francesa, in one of his usual rants about how Jeter was never the best player in the league and often not the best player on his team, brought up how Jeter is like Pete Rose, in terms of his baseball career: Singles hitter, winner, his name part of baseball history for all-time, etc., but often not the best player on his team and never the best player in the league.
And, I can’t get that out of my head, since then…
In fact, if you asked me now, who is Derek Jeter, I would say “Derek Jeter is Pete Rose, done correctly, with the ability to play shortstop.” Of course, Rose had that louder swagger, and his confidence was more out there. But, Jeter is one of the most confident baseball players I’ve ever seen take the field. And, he should be…because the guy is a winner…always has been, probably always will be…
Eric Chavez may in fact be the new Nick Johnson, but there will always be a place in my heart for the original Nick Johnson. When last heard from, Nick signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. This took place in March of 2011. He spent a few more months getting himself ready to play and then set off on his quest to return to the majors. He got as far as Triple-A with the Columbus Clippers when, surprise, surprise, he found himself back on the DL. His last game to date was June 27, at the time he had an OBP of .304, with 1 RBI in 56 plate appearances. He has only one extra base hit (double) and has struck out 15 times! Actually if you are old enough (and I certainly am) the original Nick Johnson is the new Ron Blomberg.
Well, that’s not going to help those hoping to see #3,000 tonight, is it?
No word if Lynyrd Skynyrd’s That Smell was also being played over the Stadium PA…
There have been 254 times in his career, to date, where Derek Jeter had 3+ hits in a game:
| Rk | Year | #Matching | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009 | 21 | Ind. Games |
| 2 | 2006 | 20 | Ind. Games |
| 3 | 2001 | 20 | Ind. Games |
| 4 | 2000 | 20 | Ind. Games |
| 5 | 2004 | 19 | Ind. Games |
| 6 | 1998 | 19 | Ind. Games |
| 7 | 2007 | 17 | Ind. Games |
| 8 | 1997 | 17 | Ind. Games |
| 9 | 1996 | 17 | Ind. Games |
| 10 | 2008 | 16 | Ind. Games |
| 11 | 1999 | 16 | Ind. Games |
| 12 | 2005 | 14 | Ind. Games |
| 13 | 2002 | 14 | Ind. Games |
| 14 | 2003 | 12 | Ind. Games |
| 15 | 2010 | 10 | Ind. Games |
| 16 | 2011 | 2 | Ind. Games |
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Does he have another one in him tonight? What do you think?
Via TSN -
Curt Schilling told a Philadelphia radio station on Wednesday that offense is down across the major leagues because steroids are almost gone from baseball.
“There’s a lot of good young pitchers in the game right now, but far fewer players are cheating,” Schilling said during an interview with the station. “One of the bigger reasons they all did (steroids) was it allowed them to be April fresh in September and that helped you hit home runs. Anybody who ever says performance-enhancing drugs didn’t help players produce offensive numbers is full of crap.”
And with those numbers came championships that Schilling claims were tainted.
“There isn’t a team in the last 20 years that has won clean,” he said.
When asked if he ever suspected any of his 1993 Phillies teammates of using steroids, Schilling replied, “Oh, absolutely. It wasn’t something you would walk up to someone to talk about or ask them. You had your ideas. When guys showed up with 25 extra pounds on them after three months after you had seen them during the winter, you had an idea.”
…There isn’t a team in the last 20 years that has won clean…
As much as I think Schilling can be a horse’s rear-end at times, I think he’s right on this one.
Via Bryan Hoch -
Eric Chavez has suffered another setback as he tries to return to the Yankees’ roster.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that the infielder felt something in his abdominal muscle following a workout at the team’s Tampa, Fla., facility and has been sent to New York for further tests.
Chavez has been on the disabled list since May 6, originally due to a fractured left foot, interrupting a season that saw him hit .303 (10-for-33) with two doubles, a triple and two RBIs in 17 games
He really is the new Nick Johnson.
To date, the 2011 Yankees are:
But, to bring back Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova was the one sent packing. Doesn’t make sense, does it?
It’s not YES, it’s HBO!
Via the AP -
HBO will broadcast a documentary about Derek Jeter’s pursuit of career hit No. 3,000.
Major League Baseball Productions is following the Yankees captain for a one-hour special called “Derek Jeter 3K.” The network said Tuesday that Jeter agreed to let camera crews follow him at home and while he was rehabilitating a recent calf injury.
The documentary will include new interviews with family, friends and teammates. Also interviewed will be Jeter’s girlfriend, Minka Kelly, and Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner. The program will air a few weeks after Jeter reaches the milestone.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/baseball/mlb/07/05/jeter-documentary.ap/index.html#ixzz1RHohRcfF
I just love it when a study says that Thurman Munson was the best base running catcher in baseball history since 1950.
Take that Carlton Fisk!
Via John Nalbone -
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman no doubt appreciates the professional manner and care the Thunder organization put into Derek Jeter’s record-setting, two-game injury rehab assignment Saturday and Sunday at Waterfront Park.
From increased security, to media relations and accommodations for the Yankees’ captain and 12-time All-Star, Double-A Trenton general manager Will Smith and his team appeared to pull off the daunting task without a hitch, as a healthy Jeter returned to the big club Monday.
With the possible exception of those gaudy, albeit patriotic, July 4-themed uniforms.
Cashman and Jeter each poked fun at their Double-A affiliate for the flag-draped, stars and stripes ensemble which debuted on Sunday. However, it was Cashman’s stinging critique that burned up the Internet and was ridiculed as part of the Monday afternoon ESPN2 recap of the Jeter rehab.
“We had a tough loss against the Mets (Sunday), so I was like ‘Derek I’m going to take a picture of you in this uniform here and I’m going to lift our guys’ spirits (in New York),” Cashman said. “… and I’m also going to send the message: try to do everything you can to not get injured so you don’t wind up in a minor league rehab assignment wearing a uniform looking like this.”
Ouch.
At Double-A rehabbing a strained right calf, Jeter went 2-for-4 with two walks, a run scored and an error in the two games. Sunday’s 8-1 setback marked the first time in seven games Trenton had lost with Jeter in the lineup since 2003.
“I was uncomfortable (Sunday),” Jeter joked when asked about the custom-made jerseys. “We had some fun with it. Cash took a picture and sent it to my teammates. I was uncomfortable the entire day, so don’t judge my performance.”
Thunder GM Will Smith likely is laughing all the way to the club comptroller after setting a new two-game attendance mark of 18,214, including a stadium-record 9,212 Sunday.
Five of the top seven largest crowds at Waterfront Park since 1994 have been Jeter rehab assignments.
“I think everyone had fun with them,” Smith said. “(The uniforms) were very Minor League. Amidst all the major league events of the week it was a nice dichotomy and a reminder of the patriotic theme of July 4 and we think it added something to Derek’s rehab appearance.”
I wonder what Cashman, and Jeter, thought about Suzyn Waldman dressing up like Evel Knievel for the game in Cleveland yesterday?
Via MLB.com -
Robinson Cano plans to be swinging for the fences at the All-Star Game festivities later this month in Phoenix.
The Yankees’ second baseman said Monday that he has signed up for the July 11 State Farm Home Run Derby at Arizona’s Chase Field, confirming his interest to American League derby captain David Ortiz of the Red Sox.
“That’s the kind of thing that when you’re a young kid, you look forward to and dream about one day,” Cano said. “It’s always good to taste what it’s like to be there.”
Cano had hoped to participate in the Home Run Derby last season, but the Yankees held him out over concerns about a sore back. This year, Cano said that hitting coach Kevin Long gave him the green light to go.
Effectively replacing Mark Teixeira, who turned down Ortiz’s invitation, Cano likes the AL’s squad of Big Papi, Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez and the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista. He even thinks he has a chance to win it all.
“Why not? Of course,” Cano said. “The best thing is to win it. If I’m there, you never know.”
I hope this doesn’t mess up Cano’s swing for the second half of the season.
If Derek Jeter gets two or more hits tonight, what are the odds that he will he play on Wednesday, July 6th? Related, if he does get three hits tonight and then does play on Wednesday, and gets two hits in his first two At Bats, would the Yankees pull him from the game?
If you were the Yankees, what would you do in these spots? If you were Jeter, how would you handle it?
I have no problem with them sitting him on Wednesday. You can use the cover that he’s just coming back off the D.L., as an excuse, if you need one. But, if the game on Wednesday is close, and they pull him to save “# 3,000″ for Yankee Stadium, I would have to think that the reaction to that, around baseball, would not be one that Jeter wants to deal with…right?
I am still amazed at what Bartolo Colon is doing this season. Guys with his age, recent track record, throwing hand, and conditioning are not supposed to pitch as well as he is this season. (Related, I love it when some suggest this was a brillant find by Brian Cashman. No. It was dumb luck. No one could have expected Colon to pitch like this – at least not a sane person. Cashman just stepped in it with this success story.)
Related, I can’t shake this Colon karma fear that I have – where it comes back to haunt the Yankees. Either Colon gets busted for doing something, or something he did; or, the Yankees get all goo-goo-eyed over his production this year and start to rely on him to be their “#2″ over the second-half of the season and the post-season, and, then they get burned when he crashes.
Saw most of the first half of the Yankees-Mets game on TV today. We left the house around the 6th inning. Listened in from there on the radio in the car – until the 8th inning when Robertson was pitching. Figured this one, and the sweep, was in the bag. Then, I was without any connection to Yankeeland for about 4 hours. It wasn’t until about a half-hour ago that, I saw, on the ESPN crawl, that the Yankees blew this one, 3-2, in 10 innings.
I tell you what Suzyn, the only thing you can predict about this game is that it’s unpredictable!
Oh, crap. And, you know, now, the Mets fans are going to act like they just won the last 12 World Series in a row…
Ivan Nova must feel like he’s been slapped. Ditto CC and Tex.
Man, I would have told Hughes he’s going to the pen and had to earn his way back into the rotation. And, for sure, I would have named Sabathia to the All-Star quad. Teixeira? O.K., maybe I understand that one…a little…low batting average and the fact that some first sacker gets screwed every year because of that “every team must be represented” rule.
By the way, Tyler Clippard made the All-Stars. Is that a slap for Brian Cashman? It should be…
I suspect, once Derek Jeter comes back and resumes his quest for career major league regular season hit #3,000, there will be some who may attempt to marginalize the achievement.
Why? Since it’s “Derek Jeter” and many believe that he’s overrated – leading them to discount any part of his production (because anything he does, in their eyes, is too highly graded).
However, here’s two things to keep in mind:
1. There have been at least 17,379 men to play big league baseball and only 27 of them, to date, have 3,000+ career hits. And,
2. There have been at least 1,528 men to play for the New York Yankees, to date, and no one has collected 3,000 hits while wearing the Yankees’ uniform.
Three thousand career hits is a major baseball milestone.
And, to do it playing for one team is very unique. In fact, to date, there are only 13 men to collect 3,000+ hits where at least 3,000 of those hits came under one uniform. And, only 9 players, to date, have at least 3,000 hits while playing for the same team over their entire career. (Those nine would be Musial, Yaz, Ripken, Brett, Yount, Gwynn, Biggio, Kaline and Clemente.)
When Jeter gets his 3,000th career hit, a huge, major, big deal should be made out of it. This is not ony big news for Jeter and the Yankees. This is big baseball news – period.
Anyone who tries to ho-hum it, or, lick their finger and immediately turn to page once it happens, is totally missing the point.
Attaboy, Don Schulze – Getting It Done On The 50th Anniversary Of Lou Gehrig Day
To all reading this: Have a great and safe July 4th weekend! And, just a reminder to be alert on the roads. Related, of course, if you’re drinking alcohol at some point over the next three days, please don’t drive at the same time or directly thereafter.
Via Larry Brown -
Bagging on A-Rod used to be the favorite pastime of fans and media until it was replaced by ripping on LeBron. But now that A-Rod skipped out of the way on a double play ball during Friday night’s Subway Series opener between the Yankees and Mets, we can thank Keith Hernandez for bringing it back. Watch Keith Hernandez say to A-Rod “Where’s the purse?” on this Robinson Cano double play ball.
As if the purse line wasn’t enough, play-by-play man Gary Cohen said “At least he didn’t slap at it,” which is a reference to an October, 2004 game between the Yankees and Red Sox…
I was at the game last Saturday, and, in addition to having to explain to my 9-year old daughter before the game why A-Rod came out late and stretched by himself, as always, before the game – and I was polite and just said that I was not sure why he does that and suggested that maybe he likes to have extra space – I had to explain to her why, in the bottom of the 5th inning, A-Rod (who was on first) started towards second base on a Cano grounder to Chris Nelson and then made a sharp right-hand turn and started running towards right-center field (rather than slide into second base and make the shortstop work on the double-play attempt).
Hey, let’s face it, for a huge and heavily muscled guy, A-Rod doesn’t like to mix it up. (Ever see him when there’s a bench-clearing incident on the field? He’s usually one of the last on the field and always hangs out on the outside of the scrum.) Doesn’t make Alex a bad guy. It’s just the way he’s wired. When it comes to the fight-or-flight response, A-Rod’s a runner. He’s not the only guy like this in the world. There are many, many, other guys like this…
Apparently the only team we can’t beat is Boston.
June Record: 18-8 (@ OAK, 1-0; @ LAA, 2-1; vs BOS, 0-3; vs CLE, 3-1; vs TEX, 3-0; @ CHC, 2-1; @ CIN, 2-1; vs COL, 2-1; vs MIL, 3-0)
Season Standings: New York, Boston (-2.5), Tampa Bay (-4), Toronto (-9.5), Baltimore (12.5)
Team Offense: .810 OPS
The Good:
The Bad:
The Watch:
Team Pitching: 3.42 ERA
The Good:
The Bad:
I’m not even sure there are relievers who have bad numbers this month. Boone Logan, I guess, came into a game twice without recording an out, but even his numbers aren’t bad.
Pitching Odds and Ends:
Tonight, interleague continues as the Yankees take on the New York Mets. I will be at the game in awful, awful seats that I paid entirely too much money for to watch the game with my Met fan friend. I’m excited about it. Yay.
If a Phillie doesn’t get the nod, Kennedy has a shot – him being on the “home” team and all…
Ain’t that a kick in the pants?
Rich Coutinho thinks this series has some “juice” -
After covering years and years of the Subway Series, I can always tell when the encounter has some juice. Yankees fans gets more snarky about the Mets. They’ll downplay the series as an unimportant break in their schedule.
That’s what I’ve been hearing this week.
If you hear Yankees fans tell it, you’ll hear that the Bombers have clearly dominated the Subway Series. Truth be told, the Yankees have taken only one season series from the Mets since 2003. The Mets have won two in that time. Most years the teams end up in an even 3-3 split.
That one and only year since 2003 in which the Yankees took the season series? The Mets’ injury-ravaged 2009 season. Truthfully, both teams have been bit by the injury bug this year. They have received tremendous contributions from guys like Freddie Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Justin Phillips and Dillon Gee. That’s been great to see. All four of those players will be on display this weekend, and it would not surprise me if any one of them has a huge moment sometime in the next three days.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a long way from the heyday of the series, 1998-2000, when the teams played spirited, passionate sets (punctuated by the gutless acts of Roger Clemens).
But there’s something about the series this weekend that has some major juice. Both teams are playing well. The Yankees own their league’s best record. The Mets might just be the most resilient team in their league as evidenced by their 36-27 record since their 5-13 start. Even the absence of Derek Jeter and David Wright won’t take any of the steam away from the showdown.
What do you think, and, what are your predictions for this one?
Me? I think the Mets have an edge in the pitching match-ups – especially since Colon could be rusty. And, the Mets are scoring a lot of runs lately. The Yankees will need all of their hot bats (Posada, Tex, A-Rod, Swisher, et al) to do some damage in these games. Of course, it’s going to be hard to get Posada some playing time. I just hope this weekend doesn’t become the “Jose Reyes Show.” I’m already sick of this dog and his “walk year” standout season. It’s the biggest contract push since A-Rod in 2007.
