Colin: Your generalizations are just that, i.e., an opinion. If we go to opiions, you lose. Why? The majority says Jeter is a great player. He is very brainy, and is perceived to be by his peers. Guess who voted him the GGs. Yep, his peers and other mgrs. Insofar as playing HS ball for several years, were you made to repeat years, as I am made to understand there are 4 years of eligibility. However, using your analogy, I played HS B-Ball with Lew Alcindor (Jabbar), in the "Cage" too. If so, does that make me the guru of basketball knowledge? Does it make me Red Holtzman or Phil Jackson? HS players of any sport are a dime a dozen. Remember, every coach and/or mgr was probably a HS player and/or coach, and there only a handful in the majors, so your analogy is empty, i.e., being a HS player does not make you Casy Stengel, Joe Torre, Gene Mauch, Connie Mack, Joe McCarthy, or Miller Huggins. Next question?!?! Frankly, I've forgotten more baseball then you may know!...and, that goes back a bit, probably before you were born!

FUNNY knows to get in the Hall of Champions at the Kentrucky Horse Park that You are great if Not the best. JETER is great -- retired number at THE STADIUM will attest to that. CIDE with me ......

.315 Career Average. That's 64th all-time. He's 56th all-time in Runs Scored and 76th all time in hits. Today, Jeter is a below average fielder, in his prime he was phenomenal. He would have won more Gold Gloves had A-Rod not been in the A.L. at the same time. The only reason he won any was because A-Rod was moved to third on the Yanks. If his Gold Gloves were jokes tell me who should have won them? There were no good shortstops. Face it, Jeter, A-Rod and Nomar changed the position of Shortstop forever. The logic that fielding % is a poor judge of fielding ability is ludicrous. And Quoting Joe Morgan, who is the most insanely idiotic man alive, to prove that point is even worse. When a SS ranges to field a ball and can't make a play on a very difficult ball to reach it is not ruled an error. ZR is not an objective rating system it is subjective and therefore useless. Fielding % is still subjective, but not to the degree that ZR is. When he retires Jeter will be one of the greatest shortstops of all-time.

and yes I do know baseball, how can you access my baseball knowledge by a blog comment...i have played baseball for many years and played high level baseball for several years also..

steve nascar..i am not a red sox fan first and foremost..but fielding percentage is no where near what indicates a good fielder..joe morgan even says that it is the most overrated fielding stat...almost all players have more range than jeter which means they will get to balls that he cant get to, and make errors on hard plays that would have just been a single if jeter was fielding...don't access Jeter's fielding ability by looking at Fielding %, because you will be mislead.

i actually think that steinbrenner's personality helped the yankees to be such a dynamic team. i think that the person to blame for their playoff streak ending is Cashman's fault, and the young steinbrenner's

steve nascar, supposedly jeter has "bad range", but yeah, if he gets his glove on it, he is as good as it gets. jeter IS clutch, otherwise he wouldn't have replaced REGGIE JACKSON as mr. october and been named the yankee captain. as far as speed and power goes, he is coming back in both those categories, leading the yankees in steals, and has 6 hr already. He is without a doubt the best SS in the AL, and hanley probably has more power and speed, but jeter is amazing. so for all you boosux fans out there, just shut up cuz your jealous that the yankees have an amazing player

Well said, blacknproud.

Colin44 u obviously don't know baseball, ur stats, nd quite obviously that comes from bein a blowsox fan. Let's just stay current for the most part... over the last 4 yrs. Jeter has averaged .310 at the plate (oh yeah, close to that .315 career avg) nd has had a fielding pct of .978! So what do u consider BELOW AVERAGE?? Oh, I know, maybe ur talkin about ur SS Lugo bein BELOW AVERAGE. Stat's don't lie nd I would bet if u asked anyone, players, managers, gm's, ect., I bet u would find out that about 99.9% of them would love to have MR. BELOW AVERAGE with those stat's plus evreything else he brings to the table. U remind me of typical blowsox fan who just because he's a Yankee player, your brain get's clouded, he is one of the best players in baseball nd yes I am a Yankee fan but recognise other players abilities. If you want to pick on someone, pick on the highest paid player in baseball... choke-rod, cause I'd take Lowell any day

derek jeter is my number 1 yankee player i have a picture of derek jeter in a frame and and poster of derek in my bed room my friend took it for me when he was at the old yankee stadium i have a crush on derek jeter he is a nice looking guy i have always been a yankee fan<br />amartell97<br />Andrea Martell

His entire career Jeter has been nothing but class. He is a solid shortstop, a solid hitter, never runs his mouth, never has been suspected of doing any type of performance enhancing drug, stays out of trouble, has come through in the clutch many times, howbeit not every time. Every player in the league has a lot of respect for him. If there were more sports stars like him, sports in general would be a better thing. One more thing. He has never let ego get in the way of team, he understands team more than anyone else. He will never bash a teammate, even an a-hole like a-rod.

There are only 2 kinds of baseball fans...Jeter fans and jealous. He makes plays look SOOOOO easy that fools that don't know beter think he's washed up or short of range... No look-at-me I'm so flashy, just pro ball! He's a vacuum at short and when he does muff one it's so unusual that everyone notices.He's amazing and he's everyhing anyone could ask of a ball player! Gold glove,.300 or so average EVERY SEASON!!! Always clutch,always smiling or laughing and just loving the game and a sure thing for 1st round Hall of Fame! If you think Jeter sux...get glasses or see a shrink-Even Pedroia likes the guy!

Yankeefan 1949: I was a Yankee fan in 1949; then I grew up. Steinbrenner sucked all the decency out of that team so that even Jeter is suspect.

chaz<br /><br />Sure, jeter may have made some good plays on the field. But on average, on a day to day basis, he is a BELOW AVERAGE fielder. He has and will always be near the bottom of the list in zone and range factors among MLB shortstops. He doesn't get to many balls that most could get ot easily. A diving play for hi is a easy play for other shortstops. The fact that this guy won gold gloves is a joke.

Jeter is the consummate professional. A HUGE plus in the clubhouse AND on the field. VERY brainy...Remember the dive into the stands vs. Bosox?...the shovel pass against the A's...All the guy does is WIN. What one may perceive as a shortcoming in the field, and I'm not giving you that, he more than makes up for in guts, hustle and SMARTS...he is always in the right place at the right time...and HUGE CLUTCH player...he's won 2 of the last 3 wins with clutch HRs in 8th or 9h inning.....I would ride him until he "dies" on the field. He has not lost anything of real consequence. Just look at the rings, and if the Yanks had a few more like Jeet (O'Neill, Tino, Brosius, et al), they would have more rings. Flat out: He's a WINNER, period!

portage central will beat KC anyday

I am not saying jeter is a horrible player im just saying that all he does it hitfor average (which he does well). He is not a good fielder, and he doesnt have real speed. I just think he is overrated

1) I am not a Sox fan.<br />2) Calling Jeter the best player in the game is the dumbest thing Ive heard anyone say.

Derek Jeter is just simply the best overall player in the game. When you figure in all the fact's, he's the man.

COLIN444 WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU SOUND LIKE A SOX FAN WHO ISN'T BIG ENOUGH TO ADMIT JETER IS ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE GAME GET REAL WITHOUT HIM AND RIVERA YANKS DONT DOMINATE LATE 90'S ....FACT