New York Yankees: Why Derek Jeter Should Not Lead off in 2012
March 23, 2012 · Jake Singer · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
This article will not be about why Derek Jeter is not a good player.
It will be about why Derek Jeter’s skills at this point in his career are more suited to being a No. 2 hitter, and why the Yankees would be better off with Brett Gardner or Curtis Granderson in the leadoff spot.
Batting first only matters in the first inning, because that’s the only time a manager can decide who will bat first. After that, the players determine who leads off based on their at-bats. The leadoff hitter in the order has more or less the same chance of leading off a given inning as any other batter.
What is important in a lineup is the order of the hitters—who hits before and after whom.
The reason a leadoff hitter ideally is speedy and adept at getting on base, and that a No. 2 hitter ideally is a contact hitter, is simple: the first batter in the game is supposed to get on base while the second batter up is, at worst, supposed to move the runner up so that when the best hitters in a lineup come up to the plate, the team already has a runner in scoring position.
This is precisely why Derek Jeter makes more sense as the No. 2 hitter, and why Brett Gardner or Curtis Granderson make more sense in the No. 1 spot.
When the Captain was younger and had the speed to steal 30 bases a season (as he’s done four times in his career), he made more sense as a leadoff hitter.
However, having injured both of his calves since last season and experiencing at least some deterioration in speed, Jeter is now primarily a contact hitter and not a base stealer.
That makes Jeter a good fit for the No. 2 spot—to move runners over while also reaching base at a high rate.
After coming back from a calf injury last season, Jeter hit .331 after July 4 and still managed to achieve a .355 on-base percentage for the season despite a difficult April and May.
Instead of Jeter, Brett Gardner makes the most sense to bat leadoff for the Yankees.
The sequence of Gardner and Jeter in the order would change only in the first inning (since if Gardner would otherwise hit ninth, he would be batting right before Jeter for the rest of the game), but it would put Gardner one step closer to the Yankees’ sluggers and in a better position to score.
Gardner’s a more prototypical leadoff hitter than Jeter. He’s much faster (having stolen 96 bases in the past two seasons) and takes many more pitches than Jeter. That helps other hitters see what the opposing team’s starter can throw during the first at bat of the game.
What I would envision as the Yankees’ batting order is this:
Brett Gardner
Derek Jeter
Robinson Cano
Mark Teixeira
Alex Rodriguez/Curtis Granderson
Curtis Granderson/Alex Rodriguez (depending on whether a lefty or righty is pitching)
Nick Swisher
Raul Ibanez/Andruw Jones
Russell Martin
The order that I’ve proposed, with Gardner as the leadoff, would make the lineup deeper, pushing either Granderson or A-Rod into the sixth spot. It may also give Gardner an extra at bat per game by putting him at the plate in the first inning, which wouldn’t be a bad thing for an already good but still developing hitter.
Another possibility would be to bat Curtis Granderson leadoff.
In 2011, Granderson’s strikeout rate increased but so did his on-base percentage (.364). He also stole 25 bases.
Granderson’s ability to get on base and advance into scoring position, followed by Jeter’s ability to make contact, would make for an interesting one-two combination as well.
Plus, Granderson’s ability to drive in runs via the long ball would not be affected, since he’d be batting behind Russell Martin and Brett Gardner, who are often on base.
Here’s what a lineup could look like with Granderson in the leadoff spot:
Curtis Granderson
Derek Jeter
Robinson Cano
Mark Teixeira
Alex Rodriguez
Nick Swisher
Raul Ibanez/Andruw Jones
Russell Martin
Brett Gardner
The Yankees are going to score a lot of runs no matter who bats first in their lineup, but I think they would score more with Derek Jeter moving back to where he hit for so many years: in the No. 2 spot.
Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com
Yankee Tickets
Shop Yankee
