The Yankees' SS

[Reuben]

Holy shit. Lucky, talented bastard. Nice way to have your final home game of your HOF career go, huh? The Splendid Splinter homered in his last AB... anything else come close?

Also, here's a quick bit of trivia... I was trying to remember who the Yankees' SS was before Jeter. It was pretty unsettled for a while there. Can you name the last player Before Jeter (BJ) to be the primary NYY SS for even 2 years in a row?

[austro]

Also, here's a quick bit of trivia... I was trying to remember who the Yankees' SS was before Jeter. It was pretty unsettled for a while there. Can you name the last player Before Jeter (BJ) to be the primary NYY SS for even 2 years in a row?

Bucky Freaking Dent?

[Reuben]

Bucky Freaking Dent?

Not quite that far back (though Dent was the last to be SS for more than 3 years in a row). This player was the Yanks' SS from 1989-91, and hit .255/.281/.318 during that time, with 7 HR and 8 SB.

[roadrunner]

Incredible game and finish.  Baseball is awesome

[Uncle Charlie]

Great way to finish.  No doubt HoF'er....but I wonder how many years it will take him to get in...certain a first ballot guy, right?  Guess who (at least statistically) Baseball-Reference indicates as his most similar counterpart? (no peeking)

[BudGirl]

Great way to finish.  No doubt HoF'er....but I wonder how many years it will take him to get in...certain a first ballot guy, right?  Guess who (at least statistically) Baseball-Reference indicates as his most similar counterpart? (no peeking)

yeah, but was the counterpart around player/s that did steroids?  cause you know, it matters.

[Uncle Charlie]

Both players were, but neither Jeter nor the comparable has been directly accused.  Don't forget that Clemens, Pettite and several others accused all played with Jeter.  He had access like no other, but is "The Captain" and thus the media would not stand for an affront against him on that matter.

[BudGirl]

Both players were, but neither Jeter nor the comparable has been directly accused.  Don't forget that Clemens, Pettite and several others accused all played with Jeter.  He had access like no other, but is "The Captain" and thus the media would not stand for an affront against him on that matter.

I know, which makes me mad.  For some reason he was to smart to have anything to do with it but the counterpart might have therefore,.....

Just a stupid argument for some being dumbasses.

[HudsonHawk]

Great way to finish.  No doubt HoF'er....but I wonder how many years it will take him to get in...certain a first ballot guy, right?  Guess who (at least statistically) Baseball-Reference indicates as his most similar counterpart? (no peeking)

I will be gobsmacked if he doesn't set a record for the most votes in his first year of eligibility.  I will not at all be surprised if he's the first player unanimously elected. 

[OregonStrosFan]

I know, which makes me mad.  For some reason he was to smart to have anything to do with it but the counterpart might have therefore,.....

Just a stupid argument for some being dumbasses.

Same here, and was typing a similar comment earlier but got sidetracked...

[David in Jackson]

For all the people (everyone in the media) thinking about Derek Jeter, a solid Hall of Fame infielder who got 3,000 hits playing for a single team and conducted himself with class, please watch this:

http://m.mlb.com/video/v25548145/is-biggio-worthy-of-being-inducted-into-hall-of-fame/?query=biggio

[astrosfan76]

For all the people (everyone in the media) thinking about Derek Jeter, a solid Hall of Fame infielder who got 3,000 hits playing for a single team and conducted himself with class, please watch this:

http://m.mlb.com/video/v25548145/is-biggio-worthy-of-being-inducted-into-hall-of-fame/?query=biggio

But, the rings???!!!  Anyone catch Olbermann's rant on Jeter? It probably could have stopped after 5 1/2 minutes, plus there are some obvious flaws to his logic at times, but it's hard to disagree with his premise that Jeter is in fact, overrated.  Would Jeter have been able to turn "the flip" if any other active player at the time (outside of Mo Vaughn) had been running the bases than Jeremy Giambi?  But, because he's been the game's biggest golden boy over the past two decades and, yes, was a very good player, HH may be right when he talks about Jeter going to the Hall unanimously.     

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/keith-olbermann-derek-jeter_n_5870860.html

[Waldo]

I will be gobsmacked if he doesn't set a record for the most votes in his first year of eligibility.  I will not at all be surprised if he's the first player unanimously elected. 

No question in my mind that some self-righteous fuckhead with a vote will find a reason not to vote for him on the first ballot.

[geezerdonk]

Undoubtedly the same asshole(s) not voting for Bagwell and Biggio.

[L.I. Bill]

Holy shit. Lucky, talented bastard. Nice way to have your final home game of your HOF career go, huh? The Splendid Splinter homered in his last AB... anything else come close?

Also, here's a quick bit of trivia... I was trying to remember who the Yankees' SS was before Jeter. It was pretty unsettled for a while there. Can you name the last player Before Jeter (BJ) to be the primary NYY SS for even 2 years in a row?

For a while during the dynasty years it was fun to suss out NYY bandwagon jumpers by asking them who was the SS immediately prior to Jeter.
Real fans knew it was Tony Fernandez, but an amazing (or not) number of self-proclaimed "long-time" Yankee fans were totally stumped by that one even just five or six years into the Jeter era.  Not sure some of them knew there even WAS a short-stop who pre-dated Saint Jeter.

Prior to that, one looking to find an answer to your 'two in a row' query has to wade back through the seasons anchored by Mike Gallego (1994), Spike Owen ('93), and Andy Stankiewicz ('92) (and, yeah, I had to look all that up).  I won't say who the main guy was for more than a single season since I'm cheating here - but the answer goes back to the '89 - '91 seasons

[Reuben]

For a while during the dynasty years it was fun to suss out NYY bandwagon jumpers by asking them who was the SS immediately prior to Jeter.
Real fans knew it was Tony Fernandez, but an amazing (or not) number of self-proclaimed "long-time" Yankee fans were totally stumped by that one even just five or six years into the Jeter era.  Not sure some of them knew there even WAS a short-stop who pre-dated Saint Jeter.

Prior to that, one looking to find an answer to your 'two in a row' query has to wade back through the seasons anchored by Mike Gallego (1994), Spike Owen ('93), and Andy Stankiewicz ('92) (and, yeah, I had to look all that up).  I won't say who the main guy was for more than a single season since I'm cheating here - but the answer goes back to the '89 - '91 seasons

Yep, the answer is Alvaro Espinoza, who had never played more than 37 MLB games in a season before becoming the regular NYY SS in 1989 at the age of 27. He played 146+ plus games at SS each year from 89-91. While his .599 OPS during the time pales in comparison to St. Jeter's batting stats, he did rank 4th, 1st, and 4th among AL shortstops in range factor per 9 innings those 3 years, so he helped out with the glove.

Espinoza was originally signed by the Astros way back in 1978. They released him after 2 seasons in the GCL where he failed to bat higher than .219. The Twins signed him and he worked his way up their system, getting a handful of ABs in the majors from 84-86, before being released after spending all of '87 in AAA. He made just 3 plate appearances for the Yanks in '88 and hit a modest .246/.262/.306 for AAA Columbus, but nonetheless won the starting SS job the next spring, succeeding Rafael Santana.

The Yankees released Espinoza in March of '92, after he hit .256/.282/.344 and finished 4th among AL SS in Putouts, 3rd in Assists, and 2nd in Double Plays in 1991. He spent all of '92 on the Indians' AAA club, batting .300 with 36 2B, 6 3B, and 9 HR en route to a very nice .455 SLG% and 79 RBI. He then played the next 4 seasons in the majors, mostly as a utility IF for the Indians, and went 1-for-2 in the 1995 World Series. In '96 he was traded to the Mets, along with Carlos Baerga, for future Astros DP combo Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino. He finished up his career in 1997 with the Mariners, ending with a .254 career AVG, 630 Hits and 22 HR over parts of 12 MLB seasons.

I hope everyone has enjoyed this little history lesson on Alvaro Espinoza that I for some weird reason felt like writing.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

One thing for sure, Olbermann and misery can not be separated. What a fucked up guy. Whether he be right or wrong on a point, he is always a miserable cocksuker.

[geezerdonk]

He is what my sainted grandmother called a sourpuss.

[Aussie Astro]

One thing for sure, Olbermann and misery can not be separated. What a fucked up guy. Whether he be right or wrong on a point, he is always a miserable cocksuker.

Yeah, that is a great point.  I often wonder why I don't like the prick, I tend to agree with a lot of what he says.

[Limey]

Tears Well In Derek Jeter's Eyes Following Final Botched Grounder


The Onion says it all.

[ValpoCory]

Undoubtedly the same asshole(s) not voting for Bagwell and Biggio.

Or that guy who just voted for Jack Morris last year.