Time To Change the Jeterian Ways

The day before his 34th birthday, Derek Jeter should be prepared to listen to some advice. Currently hitting .278 with a .717 OPS, Jeter needs to change his hitting style in order to return from the valleys of mediocrity and head back to the peak of stardom.

First, the type of hit which John Sterling has coined as the Jeterian single needs to cease. Jeter turns 34-years-old tomorrow and is noticeably getting older. Not only has his range in the field diminished, but his bat speed has also slowed down. No player is as strong at the age of 34 as he is at the age of 26 or 27. It takes a lot of strength to hit that "Jeterian single", an opposite field bloop over the second baseman's head on an inside fastball. That strength that he had in his prime allowed him to get enough lift on the ball to hit it in the air.

Now, Jeter is not as strong as he once was. Those balls that he was once hitting in the air are being hit on the ground. This year, when he tries to inside-out a pitch to rightfield, he will often hit a ground ball to second base or right back to the pitcher. This has led to his highest groundball:flyball ratio since 1997 (2.70:1). Because of this, he is grounding into more double plays than he ever has before.

Jeter needs to start pulling the ball and turning on the inside pitch because he is not longer strong enough to consistently hit the ball to right-center. The Yankees' shortstop this year has simply turned into a below-average hitter. His OPS+ is 93 (league average is 100); his secondary average is .183, 30 points worse than his previous worst season; his runs created/27 outs are 4.3, by far the lowest of his career. 

Jeter has not just deteriorated as a physical hitter, but he seems as if he has also regressed as an intelligent hitter. He has changed his approach this year and not for the better. Derek, who was always good for around 100 strikeouts, decided to cut down on his strikeout total, but in turn, has affected his walk total. He is swinging at pitches earlier in the count, so that he doesn't get into two-strike holes. Although Jeter has only struck out 34 times this year, he has only walked 20 times . He is seeing a mere 3.67 pitches/plate appearance, the lowest average of his career. One of Jeter's strengths throughout his time in the league has been that he is able to force pitchers to work. This year, he is voluntarily giving into them earlier in the at bat. 

So, maybe Sports Illustrated was right in their player poll that stated that Derek Jeter is the most overrated player in Major League Baseball. Before this year, I would disagree, but it's hard to argue against it when his 2008 numbers so clearly outline him as a mediocre shortstop. 

- D. Spell