In Short, They're Spectacular

Page 2

Jason Michael Barker

- Page One, Offense -

Defense

First, a confession. I'm not an expert when it comes to defensive statistics such as Zone Rating or Range Factor. In the case of three players who play the same position, however, they're very useful for means of comparison. The stats we'll look at in this section are total chances (TC), errors (E), fielding percentage (F%), zone rating (ZR) and range factor (RF).

The final column is a stat of my own creation, and a relatively simple one at that. Chances per inning (C/INN) is just total chances divided by innings played at the position. This one makes sense to me because it follows that the more chances a player has per inning, the more balls he gets to, and thus the better range he has.

For comparison, I've included career numbers for Omar Vizquel and Rey Ordonez, who are widely regarded as the best defensive players at the position. I've also elected to use only seasons during which the player logged at least 1000 innings at the position (which excludes 1994 and 1995 for Rodriguez, 1995 for Jeter and 1996 for Garciaparra), to avoid small samples and improve accuracy.

Rodriguez
Year	Age	TC	E	F%	ZR	RF	C/INN
1996	20	657	15	.977	.935	4.558	.518
1997	21	628	24	.962	.947	4.406	.509
1998	22	648	16	.975	.949	4.727	.539
Career		2173	69	.968	.936	4.521	.519
Garciaparra
Year	Age	TC	E	F%	ZR	RF	C/INN
1997	23	720	21	.971	.944	4.680	.536
1998	24	544	22	.960	.891	4.442	.512
Career		1350	44	.967	.918	4.525	.520
Jeter
Year	Age	TC	E	F%	ZR	RF	C/INN
1996	22	710	22	.969	.892	4.518	.518
1997	23	718	18	.975	.914	4.446	.507
1998	24	548	9	.984	.945	4.403	.497
Career		2029	51	.975	.915	4.440	.506
Others		TC	E	F%	ZR	RF	C/INN
Vizquel		5973	110	.982	.963	4.795	.543
Ordonez		1832	50	.973	.933	4.840	.553

Although it doesn't have a cool nickname like third base's "the hot corner," shortstop is commonly considered the most demanding position on the diamond. These three stars certainly earn their money with the bat, but their defense is an important part of the complete package.

Standing 6'3" at a muscular 195 pounds, Alex Rodriguez has perhaps the strongest throwing arm of the three. That strong arm often gets him into trouble, however, as he has a tendency to make errors on errant throws to first. Last season he led AL shortstops with 24 errors, and his .962 fielding percentage was the lowest at his position. It was certainly a step down from 1996, when he committed just 15 errors.

This season has been a marked improvement for Rodriguez in the field. His eight fewer errors have come in 20 more chances than last season, and his fielding percentage is a respectable .975. A quick look at the RF and C/INN numbers shows that his range has improved greatly as well.

Coming up through the minors, Nomar Garciaparra was known for his glove. Scouts raved about his great natural talent and instincts for the position. But since arriving in the majors, his bat has done the talking while his play in the field has taken a back seat. Nomar had a very good rookie season, as measured by fielding percentage and chances per inning. However, this season has seen him take a step backwards, with increased errors, less range, and a notable drop in zone rating.

Early in his career Derek Jeter was plagued by throwing errors, but he has improved dramatically each season in the fielding percentage department. That improvement has come at the expense of his range, however, which has decreased each year. His zone rating, however, has actually increased each season. What does that mean? I haven't the foggiest. Remember, I'm no expert on ZR or RF. The decrease in range seems fairly clear from the decreased chances per inning, and I'm content to believe that.

Overall? It's hard to say without being able to watch each player on a regular basis. Of course, I'm biased in that I get to see Rodriguez 30 times a year in person, and numerous other times on TV. Just from the numbers, I'm willing to give Nomar the benefit of the doubt this season (sophomore slump, in the field?), considering the rave reviews of his defense. That leads me to rank them Garciaparra-Rodriguez-Jeter, for whatever it's worth. Don't cut this out and put it up on your fridge or anything, OK?

- On to speed and clubhouse leadership -