In Short, They're Spectacular

Page Three

Jason Michael Barker

- Page One, Offense -
- Page Two, Defense -

Baserunning

Ah, easy statistics. SB is stolen bases, CS is caught stealing, an of course SB% is the success rate of stealing bases. Don't you wish defense was like this? "Baserunning" is probably too general a term for "base stealing ability," as baserunning involves things like scoring from third on a short sac-fly, stretching a double into a triple, and taking the extra base on a throw to the plate. However, those stats aren't readily available, so we'll just have to make do with stolen bases.

Rodriguez				Garciaparra				Jeter
Year	SB	CS	SB%	Year	SB	CS	SB%	Year	SB	CS	SB%
1994	3	0	1.00	n/a				n/a
1995	4	2	.667	n/a				1995	0	0	n/a
1996	14	4	.778	1996	5	0	1.00	1996	14	7	.667
1997	29	6	.829	1997	22	9	.710	1997	23	12	.657
1998	39	12	.765	1998	9	4	.692	1998	25	6	.806
Career	90	24	.789	Career	34	13	.723	Career	62	25	.713

Rodriguez went from very selective (83% success) in '97 to slightly less successful but more prolific this season. He's increased his stolen base totals each season, and seems to get a good read on pitchers. I doesn't hurt that he's 6'3" and has long strides, either. And lest you think he just steals "easy" bases, last season his 11 steals of third base were third in the AL. He probably won't ever swipe 70 or 80 bases in a season, but he's the by far the top stolen base threat on his team.

After 22 thefts with a 71% success rate in his rookie season, Garciaparra's steals have reduced dramatically this season. This makes sense, however, considering his move in the batting order. Last season Nomar hit leadoff and was expected to spark the offense, which often consisted of a stealing a base or two. This season he's spent most of his time batting cleanup, where his job is to drive in runs rather than score them.

Derek Jeter has improved his base stealing each year, first working on his totals, and this season dramatically improving his success rate. Blessed with excellent natural speed, he's a threat to steal 50 bases with a great success rate in the near future.

Jeter and Rodriguez have made base stealing an important part of their offensive attack, while Garciaparra seems to have ignored that aspect of his game for the time being. Final rank? Rodriguez-Jeter-Garciaparra.

Conclusion

And now, what you've all been waiting for. The best all-around shortstop in the game today? Why, Alex Rodriguez, of course. He's two years younger than Jeter and Garciaparra, and has perhaps the highest ceiling of any player in the majors today. He's a tremendous offensive player, steadily improving his already solid defense, and the stolen bases are just icing on the cake. Need I say more? How about this: he's about to become only the third 40-40 (home runs and stolen bases) man in history, and the first non-outfielder. Watch for 50-50 next season... you heard it here first.

Don't despair, Red Sox fans, as Nomar ranks a close second. Yankee fans should be happy they've got Jeter, a fabulous player in his own right, and not cross-town hack Rey Ordonez.

 

about the author

Jason Michael Barker would have loved to rank himself fourth on the list of great young shortstops, but then somebody reminded him that the last time he actually played the position was in an intramural softball game. His line? One inning, one assist, two errors. Offer moral support and fielding tips to jmb@strikethree.com.