The New York Yankees were never going to let iconic shortstop Derek Jeter play for another team no matter how much they pretended to balk at Jeter‘s contract demands. It really is that simple. So while news of his three-year contract worth $51 million with an option for a fourth at $8 million jumped across my television screen this morning forgive me for not acting surprised.
The question for many is whether this deal is as terrible as it looks on paper.
Here are the details of the deal courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.
The deal Jeter just signed doesn’t represent much of a pay cut despite the Yanks posturing, as he is coming off a staggering ten-year, $189 million deal. However, after the Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez to an even more absurd $275 million contract for ten years in 2007 New York had little bargaining power with one of its greatest players of any generation.
We all know that the Jeter we watched vault to the top of the game’s elite shortstops has been long gone for some time. Last season was unquestionably one of the worst statistically of his career at age 36 as Jeter batted just .270, sported a career-low .710 OPS, and struck out more often than he had since 2005. He did score 111 runs though, committed just six errors, and earned another Gold Glove, even if his defense was extremely suspect as his range, explosive agility and lateral movement capabilities have declined significantly with age.
Do you think he REALLY deserved that Gold Glove, by the way? So many advanced statistics dictate otherwise that I’ve become even less enamored with the validity of the Gold Glove voting process. I’m starting to feel the same way about NBA All-Star voting, too.
To be fair Jeter did bat .342 in his final 79 at bats and produced a relatively productive post-season run unlike star teammates Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez.
The bottom-line however is that the Yankees stand to make a ridiculous amount of dough and generate an abundance of goodwill by keeping Jeter on board. The Yankee icon is the club’s all-time hits leader, just seventy-four away from reaching 3,000 for his career, and has an outside shot at putting up more than 3,500 before he’s finished. Did I mention he’s 27th in runs scored and if he stays healthy is projected to finish sixth or seventh all-time? Did you think they were going to lose out on those sales opportunities, folks? Not in your dreams.
New York just couldn’t lose this guy for marketing purposes alone. Jeter is the captain, possesses an incredible work ethic, a lack of public controversy that makes him an ideal role model, a five-time champion and Yankee lifer. He is mentioned in the same breath as Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Joe DiMaggio in Yankees lore for goodness sake. He will make the Yankees a fortune YEARS after his playing days are done, regardless of whether they ever make it back to the World Series again during the twilight of his career.
This is not to say that Jeter is finished, mind you. He definitely finished last season strong and claims he has fixed the issues with his swing.
That wasn’t what this was about though, anyway. To pretend otherwise would be somewhat uneducated and misguided.
No matter how Derek Jeter performs on the field during the next four seasons his “brand” alone makes him worth his new deal. While this is not a particularly sound baseball decision contract-wise it is a fantastic marketing decision for now and the future.
Ultimately a smart and mutually beneficial move by both sides.