Aybar for Andrelton

In Simmons, the Angels acquired one of the best shortstops in the game (Sports On Earth)

Who would you rather have; A 31 year-old shortstop (32 next year) who batted .270/.301/.338 and is an okay defender? Or a 26 year-old shortstop who hit .265/.321/.338 and plays superlative defense? Furthermore, the former is entering his walk year, whereas the younger is under contract for a reasonable $10.6 million per year over the next five years.

Um, I'll take the world-class defender who's half a decade younger. Apparently the Atlanta Braves would rather have the other guy.

In a bizarre trade that makes absolutely no sense to me, the rebuilding Atlanta Braves traded Andrelton Simmons to the Los Angeles Angels for Erick Aybar. In this swap of shortstops, the Angels are clearly getting the better one. They get an in-his-prime, two-time Gold Glove winner who'll be around for the rest of the decade. The Braves get a placeholder for a year and a pair of pitching prospects. The two starters are highly regarded, but when it comes to prospects--pitchers in particular--you just never know.

Especially wild ones like Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis, who placed eighth and 47th last year in walk rate among the 578 pitchers who threw at least 100 innings (thanks to Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs for the info). Obviously wildness can be tamed--see Sandy Koufax and Randy Johnson-- and the Braves are known for developing great pitchers, but there's a real chance neither of them ever pan out. They're risks.

In Simmons, they had a sure thing; an elite gloveman who wasn't a total liability with the bat, a guy who's been worth roughly 17 wins through his first 500 games. Since debuting in 2012, Simmons has been baseball's fifth-most valuable shortstop despite playing just 49 games in his abbreviated rookie season.

Number six, interestingly enough, is Aybar. But Aybar, as mentioned, is going to be 32 next year. His defense has slipped noticeably the last couple years, and he just posted his lowest OPS since 2010. He still has a little bit of speed, but not enough to compensate for his eroding skills at the plate and in the field. He'll be an average major league shortstop at best in 2016, with the very real possibility that he drops below replacement level.

That's not going to happen to Simmons for some time, simply because he's such an outstanding defender. He could be a black hole on offense and still save enough runs with his glove to be an everyday shortstop. He'd be much more valuable, of course, if he could combine last year's decent OBP (.321) with the 17 homers he hit in 2013, but there's nothing wrong with being a slicker-fielding Elvis Andrus type who doesn't run.

I'm just baffled as to why Atlanta would give up on Simmons so soon after locking him in to a team-friendly contract. He has not progressed with the stick as hoped, so maybe they feel his value will never be higher than it is right now, before his defense declines and drags down his worth. 2,000 plate appearances into his major league career, Simmons has failed to show he can be even an average major league hitter, so the Braves might be on to something there.

Still, quality shortstops don't just grow on trees, and it's hard to be much better than Simmons has over the past few years. That's why the Red Sox didn't move Xander Bogaerts when he was struggling last year; because young, controllable shortstops are worth their weight in gold. The Halos were wise to swap out Aybar for Simmons, especially with no viable replacement on the horizon. Rather than overpay to keep Aybar or go through a revolving door of shortstops a la Boston circa 2004-2013, they ensured stability at the position for the foreseeable future. (They also get a catching prospect to boot, though it doesn't look like he'll amount to much after posting a sub-.500 OPS last year).

I'm sure finances played a role in this exchange as well. Aybar's only under contract for one more year and will cost Atlanta a modest $6 million, as LA is picking up $2.5 million of the price tag to split the difference between his and Simmons' salaries. Simmons, on the other hand, is owed $53 million over the next five years. Maybe the Braves felt that was a contract they needed to get out from under, even though they had no problem ponying up $44 million for Nick Markakis last winter. In reality, though, Simmons is an absolute steal at that price. He only needs to be worth seven or eight wins over the next five years to earn his keep, which should be a breeze as long as he stays healthy (he was worth seven wins in 2013 alone).

As with all trades, we won't be able to judge this one for a while. The Angels addressed their short-term needs and got the best player in the deal (as of now), whereas the Braves saved some money and stocked their farm system. For now both teams are winners, though my gut's telling me history will favor Los Angeles on this one.

Top Shortstops for 2015

Tulowitzki is far and away the best shortstop in baseball (Denver CBS Local)

Thinking about Ernie Banks and his place among shortstops all-time got me thinking about the best shortstops in the game today. Here's the list I came up with.

1. Troy Tulowitzki
There's no doubt that when healthy, Tulowitzki is one of the best all-around players in baseball. "When healthy" is the key phrase there, as Tulo has played 130 games once in the past five seasons, but even last year when he missed 71 games he was still worth 5.5 bWAR. The four-time All-Star turned 30 last October and is still in his prime, as evidenced by last year's ridiculous first half. He also gets to play half his games in Coors Field.

2. Ian Desmond
Quick, name the only player to go 20/20 in each of the past three years. It's not Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen, or Carlos Gomez. It's Desmond, who's earned the NL Silver Slugger award three years running. Hard to believe it's the same guy who batted .262/.304/.387 (87 OPS+) through his first three seasons and 1,300 big league plate appearances. Desmond did regress a bit last year, whiffing 183 times as his batting line fell to .253/.313/.430, but at 29 that power-speed combo probably isn't going anywhere.

3. Jose Reyes
Reyes isn't the game-changing stolen base threat he was during his younger days, but he's still a very good one (30/32 in stolen base attempts last year) and has retained his double-digit home run pop. He hasn't been a plus defender for a while now, but he does enough as a table-setter (gets on, steals, scores runs) to be an elite shortstop when healthy.

4. Starlin Castro
Castro's coming into his prime at 25 and is already a three-time All-Star. He rebounded from an abysmal 2013 to bat .292/.339/.438 (114 OPS+) with 14 home runs last year, putting him back on the Hall of Fame track. Castro's defense remains atrocious, but he might be the only shortstop not named Tulowitzki capable of batting .300 with 15-20 homers.

5. Alexei Ramirez
Ramirez flies under the radar despite playing everyday and having good power/speed numbers for a shortstop. He's hit at least 15 home runs in four of his six seasons and notched double digit steals every year except one. The result is a durable, decent defensive shortstop with close to league average power/on-base skills and solid speed. That might not be sexy, but it's a pretty good ballplayer, even if he is 33.

6. Jhonny Peralta
Peralta played outstanding defense last year in addition to popping 21 home runs, clubbing 38 doubles, and hitting .268/.336/.443 (116 OPS+). He was rewarded with MVP consideration for the first time in his 12 seasons. His bat and glove have both held steady with age, which is why I don't predict a major drop-off coming in his age-33 season. Peralta's also surprisingly durable for someone of his size and build, as he's played at least 140 games in all but one of the past 10 seasons.

7. J.J. Hardy
Hardy has a great glove (three straight Gold Gloves) and solid bat (96 OPS+), though his stick might be slipping if last year's power outage was any indication. He's already 32, so I wouldn't bank on him bouncing back to his 25-homer days, but 15 or so should be reasonable in that ballpark. If he's truly a single-digit home run guy from now on, though, that doesn't bode well for the Orioles, as he's just a .260 hitter who hardly walks and strikes out a fair amount. Given his age the defense is probably headed south soon as well, but for now he's still a comfortably above average shortstop.

8. Andrelton Simmons
Winner of back-to-back NL Gold Gloves, Simmons is hands-down the best defensive shortstop in the game, but his bat slipped from usable in 2013 to a black hole last year (.617 OPS). His glove makes him an asset no matter how poorly he hits, but if he can just be mediocre at the plate rather than cringe-worthy, he'll be a borderline All-Star.

9. Erick Aybar
Aybar's another one who doesn't stand out but consistently plays well. He's as steady as they come, a lock to bat .280 with around 20 steals and 30 doubles despite playing in a tough hitter's environment. Throw in decent defense and you've got yourself a capable if uninspiring shortstop.

10. Jimmy Rollins
Now 36, Rollins refuses to break down. He was worth almost four bWAR last year after socking 17 homers, stealing 28 bases in 34 tries, and putting up a 101 OPS+. He also played not terrible defense, which is always a pleasant surprise from a veteran shortstop in his mid-30s. His bat might finally crumble now that he's moving from a hitter's heaven in Philly to a pitcher's paradise in LA, but it seems equally likely that Rollins will just continue to roll on.


Honorable Mention: Alcides Escobar, Jed Lowrie, Xander Bogaerts, Elvis Andrus

12 Greatest Shortstops

At a time when pitchers ruled the sport, Wagner towered over the game (ESPN)

With the recent passing of Ernie Banks and retirement of Derek Jeter, I was thinking about where they rank among shortstops. This is by no means definitive, as it gets really close after the top five and 6-12 could be ranked in almost any order, but I did my best:

1. Honus Wagner (131 bWAR, 138.1 fWAR, 92 WAA)
Almost a full century after his last game, Wagner is still the greatest shortstop who ever lived. The Flying Dutchman was the best position player in baseball history until Ty Cobb came along, and probably would have won five or six MVPs had the award existed back then. The amount of black ink on his Baseball-Reference page is staggering; eight batting and OPS titles, seven doubles titles, and five stolen base and RBI crowns, to name a few. Wagner dominated the game, and I think it's pretty telling that when the first Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1936, he received as many votes as Babe Ruth.

2. Alex Rodriguez (116 bWAR, 111 fWAR, 77.4 WAA)
The enduring image of Alex Rodriguez as a baseball player will be that of an aging, broken-down, scandal-ridden third baseman. That's too bad, because for the first decade of his career he was a full-time shortstop, and an otherworldy one at that. PEDs aside, what A-Rod did during his time in Seattle and Texas defied belief. He reeled off six straight 40-homer seasons, when no other shortstop had so many at all, let alone consecutively. He had back-to-back 50-homer seasons, shattering Banks's single-season record for most home runs by a shortstop, then breaking his own mark the very next year with an unthinkable 57. He went 40/40, something only three other people in baseball history have ever done.  Rodriguez was a great defender, too, winning consecutive Gold Gloves in 2002 and 2003 before joining the Yankees and moving over to third in deference to Jeter (an inferior player, by the way). I often wonder how his career would have turned out had he just stayed the Rangers shortstop and captain. It couldn't have turned out any worse.

3. Cal Ripken Jr. (95.5 bWAR, 92.5 fWAR, 53.1 WAA)
People remember Ripken so much for the streak that they forget just how great he was during his prime. He was a two-time MVP who had at least 21 home runs and 81 RBI every year from 1982 to 1991, when he was arguably the best player in baseball. He was an All-Star 19 times, winning eight Silver Sluggers as well as a pair of Gold Gloves. And yes, Iron Man was a freak of nature who played 2,632 consecutive games and 3,001 in all (and yet was only a liability in his final season). Ripken played the game the right way--the Ripken way.

4. Ernie Banks (67.5 bWAR, 63.3 fWAR, 28.5 WAA)
Until Alex Rodriguez came along, Banks set the standard for power-hitting shortstops, which were exceedingly rare until the 1980s. Mr. Cub was at his absolute best from 1955-1960, batting .294/.359/.579 (148 OPS+) with 47.3 bWAR and five 40 homer/100 RBI seasons. Only Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were more valuable during this span, which saw Banks win back-to-back MVPs and lead all players in home runs and RBI. A knee injury suffered during the 1961 season forced him to first base full-time, but his prime years were truly a thing of greatness.

5. Derek Jeter (71.8 bWAR, 73.5 fWAR, 30.4 WAA)
Jeets would rank much higher if not for his terrible defense, which cost the Yankees a lot of runs and wins over the years. He also struck out a lot for a guy with medium power and was largely a singles hitter in the final third of his career. That said, Jeter played shortstop at a high level for almost two full decades (notwithstanding his horrible last couple seasons) and finished with impressive career statistics, his 3,465 hits chief among them. In his prime he was a durable 20/20 guy who hit well over .300, got on base a ton, and played passable defense. He was also a "winner" who came through time and time again for the Yankees during the postseason.

Jeter is one of the five greatest shortstops ever (MLB)

6. Robin Yount (77 bWAR, 66.5 fWAR, 37 WAA)
It took Yount, who debuted at 18, a good half decade to develop into an above average hitter. But once he did, he became one of the best all-around players in baseball. He owned the 1980s, winning two MVP awards and compiling 55.1 bWAR/50 fWAR during the decade. According to FanGraphs, only Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, and Mike Schmidt were more valuable than Yount, who batted .305/.365/.485 (135 OPS+) for the decade while leading all players in hits and doubles (and ranking second in runs). Yount was a center fielder during his 30s but played over half his games at shortstop, which explains why he's included here. Like Ripken, Yount combined several elite seasons with longevity, playing long enough to surpass 3,000 hits.

7. Arky Vaughan (72.9 bWAR, 72.6 fWAR, 47.3 WAA)
Vaughan is one of the most underrated ballplayers ever, probably because he spent his prime years on lousy Pittsburgh teams during the Depression. Sure, he played in a fantastic era for hitters, but a .318/.406/.453 (136 OPS+) stands out in any case. Also, this is not a misprint; in 1935 he batted .385/.491/.607 (190 OPS+) en route to a 9.2 bWAR campaign. Even more astounding is that he was not named NL MVP that year (he finished third, behind Gabby Hartnett and Dizzy Dean).  Vaughan didn't play very long--only 14 seasons--so his counting numbers aren't that great, but for the bulk of his career he was one of the three best position players in baseball. Had he not voluntarily sat out three seasons in his early 30s, he probably would have ended up with close to 1,500 runs and 2,500 hits.

8. Barry Larkin (70.2 bWAR, 67.6 fWAR, 42.2 WAA)
Larkin was basically Jeter value-wise, only he wasn't able to stay as healthy. So while Larkin, just as good a hitter and a better baserunner/defender, was better than Jeter on a per-game basis, I can't overlook the fact that Jeter played almost 600 more games and had nearly 3,600 more plate appearances. From 1988-2000, Larkin wasn't just the best shortstop in the National League; he was one of the five most valuable position players in baseball. There were Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., and everyone else, but Larkin was at or near the top of the everyone else list.

9. Luke Appling (74.5 bWAR, 72.7 fWAR, 41.5 WAA)
Appling's another guy who seems to have been forgotten, which is hard to reconcile given his .310 career average, .399 OBP, and 2,749 hits. Like Vaughan, he had one monster season in the heart of the Depression, putting up a .388/.474/.508  (139 OPS+) line and 128 RBI in 1936, only to come up short in the MVP voting (Appling finished second to Lou Gehrig, who was absolutely the right call with his 49 home runs and 1.174 OPS). Appling was a lot like Vaughan, actually, albeit with less power. Appling was also phenomenal old player, batting .301 with 121 walks in 1949 at age 42. If not for World War II costing him almost two full seasons, he would have been a good bet to reach 3,000 hits, 1,500 runs, and 500 doubles.

10. Alan Trammell (70.4 bWAR, 63.7 fWAR, 40.2 WAA)
Trammell was a skilled defensive shortstop (four Gold Gloves) who also had a number of strong offensive seasons, none better than his 1987 campaign when he batted .343/.402/.551 (155 OPS+) with 28 home runs and 105 RBI. The six-time All-Star did everything well; defense, hitting for power, speed, getting on base, et. al. He teamed with Lou Whitaker for two decades to form the best double-play tandem baseball has ever seen.

11. Ozzie Smith (76.5 bWAR, 67.6 fWAR, 41.6 WAA)
Smith was nothing special offensively (career 83 OPS+), but was so dazzling on the field and bases that he was able to cruise into Cooperstown on his first try with over 91 percent of the vote. Rewarded with a (shortstop) record 13 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1980-1992, Smith is widely considered to be the best defensive shortstop all-time. The Wizard was also a phenomenal basestealer, swiping 580 at a 79.6 percent clip. So while he wasn't much with the stick and had virtually no power to speak of (only 28 career big flies), the 15-time All-Star compensated by getting on base enough (.337 OBP) and winning games with his legs.

12. Joe Cronin (66.4 bWAR, 66.6 fWAR, 35.9 WAA)
With a .301/.390/.468 (119 OPS+) career line, Cronin was one of the best-hitting shortstops of all-time. He was an excellent RBI man, topping 90 every year but one from 1930-1941 and piling up 1,424 in all. Cronin also had really good power for a shortstop, with 803 of his 2,285 hits going for extra bases. A seven-time All-Star, he finished in the top-seven of MVP voting five times. His defense has been called into question, however, and his numbers are less impressive after accounting for context (he played mostly in the 1930s and spent a lot of years at Fenway Park).

HM: Jimmy Rollins, Vern Stephens, Omar Vizquel, Miguel Tejada, Lou Boudreau

Bye Bye Banks

Banks was a tremendous shortstop and Cubs icon (Huffington Post)

Cubs legend and Hall of Famer Ernie Banks passed away yesterday, eight days shy of his 84th birthday.

"Let's play two"was his mantra, and one he took to heart. Banks played at least 130 games in all but three of his 19 seasons, exceeding 150 a dozen times and leading the league in six of those years. The Cubs were often abysmal, but their constant losing never stifled his love for baseball. Perhaps no player ever seemed to get more unbridled joy from the game than Banks, who at one point played 717 consecutive games at shortstop.

It was therefore terribly unfair that he spent his entire career with one of baseball's losing-est franchises, never once getting a taste of the postseason. That Chicago collapsed down the stretch in 1969, at the end of Banks's last impactful season, was a particularly cruel twist of fate. He and the Cubs came so close, only to crash and burn in September.

By then Banks was at first base, the position he manned for most of the 1960s. But in the 1950s, Banks became baseball's first slugging shortstop, re-defining a position that had typically been reserved for speedy, slap-hitting guys like Luis Aparicio. Before a knee injury forced him to move across the diamond in 1962, Banks was on track to be the greatest offensive shortstop since Honus Wagner. In the half century since, only Alex Rodriguez has equaled the power numbers Banks put up during his heyday.

Groomed in the Negro Leagues, Banks seamlessly transitioned to the majors and became a star almost instantly. He excelled during his 1953 call-up and was runner-up in the following year's NL Rookie of the Year race before finishing third in the 1955 NL MVP vote.

1955--that was the year Banks became a star. He made his first All-Star team, batted .295/.345/.596 (144 OPS+), and was valued at 8.2 bWAR. More notably, he set the home run record for shortstops with 44 including five grand slams--a single season record that stood for 30 years. Two years later, Banks challenged his own record by slamming 43 out of the yard.

The late '50s were Banks's heyday, In 1958 and 1959, he became the first National Leaguer to win back-to-back MVP awards despite playing for second division teams (Chicago finished fifth out of eight both years with losing records). In '58 Banks played every game, batting .313/.366/.614 (155 OPS+) and leading the major leagues with 47 home runs, 129 RBI, 379 total bases, and 81 extra base hits. Those 47 big flies set a new major league record for shortstops, one that has since been surpassed by Rodriguez but still remains that NL record.

Banks's '59 season was just as good, if not better. He once again played every game, clubbed 45 home runs, knocked in an ML-best 143 runs, batted .304/.374/.566 (156 OPS+), and was worth an astounding 10.2 bWAR. In 1960 Banks had another MVP-caliber year worth 7.8 bWAR, pacing the majors with 41 home runs while winning his first and only Gold Glove.

That would be Banks's last elite season, capping a six-year run in which he was the most valuable position player in baseball not named Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle. He went on to become a steady, solid first baseman, but never came close to replicating his peak seasons due to age and declining levels of offense. The move helped Banks play past 40, allowing him to reach milestones such as 500 home runs, 1,600 RBI, and 2,500 hits.

An 11-time All-Star, Banks was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977, his first year of eligibility. First-ballot induction is typically reserved for the game's true legends, the inner-circle Hall of Famers. I can think of few men more deserving of that honor than Mr. Cub.

Ramirez Rejoins Red Sox

9 years after Boston traded him, Ramirez is back (ProSportsBlogging)

10 years ago Hanley Ramirez was the Boston Red Sox's shortstop of the future, heir apparent to Nomar Garciaparra. Then the Sox traded him to the then-Florida Marlins for Josh Beckett in a move that altered the course of both franchises.

Boston, of course, went on to win the 2007 World Series on the backs of Beckett and Lowell, that year's ALCS and World Series MVPs. Meanwhile, Ramirez blossomed in Florida, winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2006 before earning three top-10 MVP finishes and a trio of All-Star nods over the next four seasons. The former batting champion spent the last two and a half seasons with the Dodgers, helping them to division titles in 2013 and 2014.

Now, Ramirez is returning to the team that signed him as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic when he was just 16. With 10 big league seasons under his belt, the 30 year-old has delivered on the superstar promise he flashed in Boston's farm system. He returns a fully-formed product.

While HanRam's defense has suffered in recent years, necessitating a move off shortstop (likely to third), his bat has remained potent. In 2013 he slammed 20 home runs to go along with a sky-high 1.040 OPS (189 OPS+), followed by a 132 OPS+ performance in 2014. Excluding his two-game cameo with the Sox in 2005, Ramirez has had an above-average OPS in all but one of his seasons--his injury-marred 2011. His bat is most valuable at shortstop, obviously, but still plays at the hot corner or in the outfield should he move there.

2011 was an aberration in terms of Ramirez's offensive production, but it was not out of the ordinary in regards to his health. He missed time the year before that (2010), played just 86 games in 2013, then sat out 34 games last year. That's 205 missed games over the past five seasons, an average of 41 per year. Ramirez is going to be 31 next year, so the Red Sox shouldn't expect to get many, if any, full seasons out of him. But like Jose Reyes, Ramirez is so good when he does play that he still earns his keep: just make sure you have a quality backup plan.

A righthanded hitter with good power (career .200 ISO), Ramirez should excel in Fenway Park. Trading the run-parched environment of Dodger Stadium for one of the best hitter's parks in baseball should help ward off any age-related decline in the immediate future. He's also a versatile offensive performer, capable of hitting .300 with 20 homers and a similar number of steals when healthy. He walks a fair amount and doesn't strike out much, so one would expect him to age gracefully anyways.

The Red Sox are going to pay Ramirez $90 million over the next five years, an average annual value of $18 million per season. That's a considerable pay bump from his contract that just expired, a six-year, $70 million that paid him less than $12 million a season on average. Ramirez is not nearly the all-around force he was five years ago, but inflation and free agent scarcity means he'll be paid more to do less. It's still a pretty good deal if Ramirez continues to play shortstop or third, less so if he moves to left field.

So while Ramirez has question marks about his durability and defense, there's no disputing the fact that he makes Boston's lineup significantly stronger. He's still a four-win player, and I'm more optimistic about how his early 30s will play out than I am about, say, Billy Butler's. The Red Sox didn't need a shortstop with Xander Bogaerts already there, but they could certainly use a third baseman (unless Pablo Sandoval also signs) and a big bat in general. Ramirez fits the bill.

Revisiting Nomar vs Jeter

Garciaparra (left) was better than Jeter before injuries ruined his career

Reading this wonderful piece by Leigh Montville led me to revisit a recent but now irrelevant debate between two of the greatest shortstops from the past 20 years: Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Jeter.

Just as Red Sox and Yankee fans debated the merits of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio during the 1940s, their grandchildren argued at length about Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra around the turn of the 21st century. What made this argument even better was that the two played the same position. Williams and DiMaggio had both been outfielders, but the Splendid Splinter was stationed in left and DiMaggio manned the more-challenging center. This could not be ignored, for while Williams was obviously the better hitter, DiMaggio deserved credit for playing a tougher position, and playing it spectacularly well at that.

No such concessions were needed for this rivalry. Born less than a year apart, both were immensely popular, multi-talented shortstops and first round draft picks who broke in around the same time, with Jeter winning the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1996 and Garciaparra taking home the honors the following year (both unanimously). Because they played in the same division just as their clubs' century-long rivalry was being renewed, they were often pitted against each other for the the most intense, high-stakes games. Jeter, like DiMaggio, was a "winner" with the rings to prove it. Garciaparra was statistically superior, the better hitter and rangier defender, but like Williams was destined to never win a World Series in his career.

While neither one was quite on the level of Alex Rodriguez, Garciaparra and Jeter were not far behind. More importantly, they were close enough to each other that one could reasonably compare them without sounding like a delusional homer. Anyone who said Jeter was better than A-Rod was clearly an idiot, but saying Jeter was better than Garciaparra, while misguided, was at least more defensible and understandable. They were both five-time All-Stars from 1997 through 2003 and won the same number of Gold Gloves (0) and MVP awards (also 0). Garciaparra at least won a Silver Slugger, something Jeter wouldn't do until 2006.

From a statistical standpoint, however, it's impossible to conclude anything other than what every Red Sox fan and informed baseball follower knew ten years ago: Garciaparra was better, before 2004, that is.

From 1997 through 2003 (excluding 2001, when Garciaparra missed virtually the entire season):

Jeter:    890 G 707 R 1,160 H  175 2B 96 HR 456 RBI 1,685 TB 137 SB 32.2 bWAR
Nomar: 883 G 661 R 1,186 H 267 2B 165 HR 645 RBI 2,036 TB 77 SB 40.5 bWAR

Even including 2001, when Garciparra played just 21 games to Jeter's 150, Nomar still comes out way ahead in doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, and WAR. And that's with spotting Jeter almost an extra full season.

In 2004, however, their careers began heading in opposite directions. Garciaparra got hurt again, was traded away from Boston and was really never the same. He bounced around, couldn't stay healthy, and played his last game in 2009, a year in which Jeter secured his fifth World Series ring and finished third in the AL MVP voting. Jeter would continue to produce long after Garciaparra had faded away, leading the major leagues in hits in 2012 at the age of 38 and playing past his 40 birthday. Jeter's going into the Hall of Fame on his first try, whereas Garciaparra has almost no chance of getting inducted (off the writer's ballot, anyways) due to the brevity of his career.

Still, it's worth remembering that for a while in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Garciaparra was better than Jeter. For nearly a decade they were equals, before Garciaparra broke down and faded away. Here's a year-by-year breakdown to prove it:

1997 Nomar
No sophomore slump for Jeter, who proved his Rookie of the Year campaign was no fluke by posting the same OBP and swatting just as many home runs as the year before, not to mention totaling more runs, hits, doubles, triple, walks, steals, total bases, and wins above replacement. With decent defense and 23 steals, he was somewhere in the neighborhood of four to five WAR (FanGraphs has him at four exactly, B-R rates him at 4.9).

Garciaparra, however, was worth close to six and a half after authoring one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time. In addition to leading the American League with 209 hits and 11 triples, Garciaparra racked up 122 runs, 44 doubles, 30 homers, 98 RBI, 22 steals and 365 total bases, making him the unanimous choice for AL Rookie of the Year honors. He also earned his first All-Star selection and won his only Silver Slugger award.

While Jeter's season was in many ways an improvement on his rookie campaign, he was simply not as outstanding as Garciaparra. Nomar outproduced DJ in virtually every offensive category, swatting three times as many home runs and posting an OPS 100 points better than his Yankee counterpart's .775 mark, all while playing superior defense and stealing one fewer base.

Garciaparra's superiority was reflected in that year's MVP voting, where he scored an eighth place finish, though he should have been in the top five and probably would have had Boston not stumbled to a 78-84 record that year.  Jeter's did not fare as well, finishing a distant 24th in the MVP balloting even though his Yankees won 96 games and made the playoffs. Both should have finished higher than they did, but the voters correctly recognized that Garciaparra was significantly more valuable than Jeter.

1998 Nomar
Jeter took a significant step forward in his third full season, nearly doubling his home run output, adding almost 90 points to his OPS and becoming a much more efficient basestealer. He topped 200 hits and 300 total bases for the first time, paced the American League in runs scored with 127, and enjoyed one of his finest seasons defensively. Baseball-Reference rates him at 7.5 bWAR that year, a tremendous number, while FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus have him around six.

Garciaparra was right there with him, topping seven WAR by both B-R and FG's calculations while falling just short of seven according to BP. Garciaparra also made a big leap from his previous season, raising his OPS more than 70 points, establishing career highs with 35 home runs and 122 RBI, and cutting his strikeout rate from 12.5 percent to 9.5 percent. His defense remained exceptional, worth close to two wins by itself.

Based on WAR, choosing between the two comes down to splitting hairs. The voters must have felt the same way that year, as Garciaparra finished second (to an undeserving Juan Gonzalez) with Jeter taking bronze in that year's maligned MVP vote. Nomar did receive five first place votes to Jeter's two, however, an impressive feat considering Jeter's Yankees won 114 regular season games that year, or 22 more than the Boston Red Sox. Jeter hit .324, Garciparra hit .323/ Jeter got on base at a better clip, but Garciaparra outslugged him by over 100 points and played better defense. In the end, that's enough to swing the pendulum in Garciaparra's favor.

1999 Jeter
Jeter continued to improve in 1999, the finest season of his storied career. Not only did Jeter bat. 349, a personal best, but he also drew 91 walks--also a career high--to fuel his .438 OBP, the third-highest mark in the American League that year behind Edgar Martinez and Manny Ramirez. Nobody matched his major league leading hit total of 219.

Jeter would have won his first batting title were it not for Garciaparra, who eclipsed the Yankee's .349 mark by batting .357 to take the crown. But because Nomar walked 40 fewer times than Jeter, his OBP was significantly lower at a still-great .418. Garciaparra, as he normally did, compensated by hitting for more power. Though his 27 home runs and 104 RBI barely surpassed Jeter's 24 and 102, Garciaparra's .603 slugging percentage was over 50 points higher than Jeter's .552 mark. Both players slipped defensively and came out practically even, negating Garciaparra's previous advantage there. They both posted identical OPS+ scores of 153, indicating that Jeter's bat was Garciaparra's equal after adjusting for league and park. Nomar was slightly better on the bases, with 14 steals in 17 attempts compared to Jeter's 19 out of 27, but not enough to tip the scales either way. Garciaparra outhit Jeter in their first postseason meeting that year, which New York won in five games, but Jeter had a great series in his own right and I'm not going to put much stock in five playoff games.

Another very close call here, which again was apparent in the MVP voting. Jeter finished sixth, one spot ahead of Garciaparra. BP favors Garciaparra, but BR and FanGraphs both give the edge to Jeter. So shall I, for Jeter played 23 more games than Garciaparra and thus made more of an impact. Plus he also led the loop in two very important sabermetrics: runs created and times on base. This time, it's Jeter by a nose.

2000 Nomar
Jeter regressed following his career year in 1999, turning in a season that was still great but not elite. All his numbers except for steals and strikeouts were down compared to the year before, and his defense continued to slide as well. The result was that Jeter's value plummeted by three to four wins.

The same cannot be said of Garciaparra, who enjoyed his finest season in the first year of the new millennium. Not only did he bat .372, the highest mark in the American League that year as well as his career, but he also walked a career-best 61 times (20 intentionally) to post a .434 OBP, also a career high. With 51 doubles, 21 long balls and a .599 slugging percentage, his power remained elite as well, not to mention better than Jeter's 31, 15, and .481, respectively. And while Garciaparra essentially became a nonfactor on the bases with only five steals, he bounced back defensively with a season on par with his first two. With Jeter so far below average and Garciaparra so far above average, the difference between them in glovework alone was worth anywhere from three to four wins. Throw in Nomar's big offensive edge, and this one's not nearly as close as the MVP ballot would suggest. I'm surprised that for the third straight year they finished next to each other in the MVP polls. Nomar pulled a ninth place finish while Jeter came in tenth, maybe because their teams finished so close in the standings (New York edged Boston by two games to win the division).

2001 Jeter
No contest here, for Jeter produced a typical Jeter season while Garciaparra played only 21 games because of a wrist injury that unfortunately ended his days as an elite hitter.

2002 Nomar
Garciaparra bounced back to play 156 games, a career high, and amass almost seven bWAR despite losing more than 150 OPS points off his 2000 production. His .880 mark was still nearly 90 points better than Jeter's OPS, which dipped below .800 for the first time since his sophomore season. Garciaparra outhit Jeter .310 to .297, and while Nomar's OBP was considerably lower (.352 to Jeter's .373), he made up for it by slugging 107 points higher. In nine fewer at-bats, Garciaparra collected 30 more doubles, five more triples, six additional home runs, 45 more RBI, and 64 more total bases. Garciaparra's defense was considerably better as well, thereby negating Jeter's clear edge on the basepaths. Whereas Jeter did not appear on a single MVP ballot that year, Garciaparra finished 11th tied with David Eckstein even though New York won the division and Boston missed the playoffs altogether.

2003 Nomar
Garciaparra's final full season in Boston was another great one, contributing approximately six wins above replacement for a colorful Red Sox team that won 95 games and the AL Wild Card. His OPS slipped ever so slightly to .870, down ten points from the year before, but his counting numbers remained impressive with 120 runs, 198 hits, and 19 steals--all his most since his sterling rookie season--plus 28 homers, 105 RBI, and 345 total bases. Jeter, who made his first trip to the DL after an Opening Day collision with Blue Jays backstop Ken Huckaby at third base, was limited to 119 games and so his numbers paled in comparison. On a per game basis, though, Jeter was just as good as Nomar, batting .324/.393/.450 (to Garciaparra's .301/.345/.524) while scoring 0.73 runs per game and compiling a slightly better adjusted OPS than Garciaparra, a performance that added up to about four wins.

Had Jeter not gotten hurt, it's likely his numbers would have been right there with (and possibly better than) Nomar's, but we'll never know. What we do know is that Nomar played 37 more games with way more power (almost three times as many home runs and more than twice as many RBI), better defense and superior baserunning, thus making him the more valuable player that year. Accordingly, there was a wide gap between them in the MVP voting, with Garciaparra finishing seventh (his last time in the top-ten) and Jeter much further down at 21st. Neither player shined in that year's unforgettable (thanks to Aaron Boone) ALCS, both notching seven hits in the seven games with sub-.700 OPS's.

2004 Jeter
2004 amounted to another lost season for Garciparra, who didn't take the field until June 9th and appeared in only 81 games that year. While solid offensively, Garciaparra pouted his way out of Boston with numbers that were down across the board and defense that had slipped precipitously. At best he was worth maybe two wins above replacement. Jeter was worth four in a year where he played a full slate of games (154), cracked 23 home runs, stole 23 bases, and won the first of many Gold Gloves he did not deserve. Though the formerly cursed Red Sox went on to stun their arch-rivals in the ALCS and win their first World Series title in 86 years, they did so without the help of Garciaparra, who played 38 games for them before he was dealt to the Cubs in a trade deadline deal that shored up Boston's leaky infield defense by bringing former Gold Glovers Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz to Beantown.

The rest is history. From that point forward, there would never again be a time when Garciaparra outproduced Jeter or when anyone could even claim that they were on the same level. Nomar would enjoy one more good season, with the Dodgers in 2006, but by then he was a first baseman. He was unable to sustain the peak that made him look like a surefire Hall of Famer in his 20s. In terms of career value, Jeter has him beat by a long shot. But if you narrow the window to Garciaparra's Boston days, he comes out on top. It's just too bad things turned out the way they did, that he didn't amount to much after leaving Beantown, because while he was here he was more celebrated than any Red Sox player ever, save maybe Carl Yastrzemski.

Now, he's nothing more than a distant memory, the sad story of a promising career unfulfilled. I see so much of him in Troy Tulowitzki, another supremely talented but injury-plagued shortstop, and I can only hope he avoids the same fate.

Jeter Just Doing Enough

Jeter's not contributing much, but his performance hasn't flatlined (IBTimes)

Derek Jeter turned 40 on Thursday, which unfortunately for him was an off-day for the Yankees. Jeter is a born-winner, but even he can not win a game that isn't played.

So last night must have been the next best thing, then, as New York trampled their longtime rivals from Boston 6-0 at Yankee Stadium. With Toronto losing and Baltimore splitting its doubleheader against Tampa Bay, the victory moved New York to within two games of first place and just half a game out of second. Despite age, injuries, and underperformance, the banged-up Bombers have battled their way into contention and, with better luck in the second half, could very well walk away with a winnable division.

Jeter has not done much to help the Yankees this year*, but he isn't killing them, either. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored last night, raising his batting line to .271/.327/.330. With only two home runs, 11 extra base hits, 17 RBI and a slugging percentage not much better than his career batting average, Jeter's not providing much power. But then again, nobody expected him to. With three stolen bases in four attempts he's not providing much speed, either, but few 40 year-olds do.

*One thing Jeter hasn't been is clutch. With only two go-ahead hits to date, hes batted .105/.244/.158 in late and close situations, .133 with no extra base hits when there've been runners in scoring position with two outs, and .170/.278/.213 in high leverage situations. If you're a Yankees fan, Jeter's not the guy who want at the plate when the game's on the line.

Jeter has hit for a solid average and gotten on base at a decent clip, which is all anybody could have really asked for. He's also been incredibly consistent, with a .660 OPS in April, .670 OPS in May, and a .635 OPS thus far in June. As steady as ever, Jeter's gone two straight games without a hit only twice this year, and never three. Joe Girardi shouldn't be batting Number Two second of course, but Jeter's held his own offensively and has remained reliable, if nothing else. He's avoided anything resembling a slump, which at his age is truly remarkable.

Also, Jeter's defense has not been nearly as bad as many (myself included) expected it to be. It's not good, obviously, as his range is still terrible (the worst of his career), but on the whole it could be worse. FanGraphs acutally gives him a positive defensive rating, while Baseball-Reference estimates that he's saved only four fewer runs than the average shortstop. Jeter's still making the plays on the balls he can get to, with a .973 fielding percentage that's right in line with his career .976 mark and slightly better than the league average of .971. Like I said, steady as ever.

Throw it all together and Jeter's been a hair above replacement level, which is about where he was the three seasons before last year. That might not be the winning Mariano Rivera-esque comeback story some were hoping for, but he's played as well as we could have reasonably expected him to. His performance has been far from great, but he's not embarrassing himself either. He's holding on.

Rollins Rolling Towards Cooperstown

Rollins has steadily compiled numbers that rank among those of baseball's best shortstops

Now that Jimmy Rollins is the Phillies franchise hits leader (which is really quite impressive considering the team has been around in some capacity since 1883), people will inevitably begin to talk about his Hall of Fame chances. After all, the man he just passed, Mike Schmidt, was a first ballot Hall of Famer who sailed into Cooperstown with 96.5 percent of the vote in 1995, and their career averages are almost identical, with Rollins at .268 to Schmidt's .267.

But that's where the statistical similarities between the two end, and right now, at least, Rollins' Hall hopes don't look nearly so good. Based on bWAR, Rollins has never been the best player on his own team, let alone the league (his undeserved 2007 MVP award notwithstanding). His offense has been uneven over the course of his career, and his bat rates a hair below average when adjusted for league and park (97 OPS+, with more seasons below 100 than above it). He's yet to bat .300 in any season (and at this stage of his career, probably never will) or post an OBP above .350. He falls short by JAWs, Black Ink, Gray Ink, Hall of Fame Standards, and Hall of Stats, and just barely qualifies by Hall of Fame monitor. With only three All-Star game appearances, one Silver Slugger, one World Series ring, one top-nine MVP finish and 43.6 career bWAR to his name, Rollins neither looks nor smells like a Hall of Famer, something his .268/.328/.425 seems to confirm. His most similar batter, Ray Durham, just fell off the ballot on his first try.

And yet, part of me thinks Rollins has been underappreciated by baseball fans outside Philadelphia. Here's a guy who comes to play everyday, and when the season's over you look up and realize that he stroked 35-40 doubles, swiped 30 or 40-odd bases, blasted 10-20 homers, and collected a good number of hits and runs. Combined with great defense at a premium position (four Gold Gloves), that's pretty valuable. Since 2000 Rollins has compiled more WAR than any shortstop not named Derek Jeter (omitting Alex Rodriguez, who moved to third base after 2003). He ranks as baseball's 16th most valuable position player during that span, with more fWAR than Matt Holliday, Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Joe Mauer David Ortiz, and one-time teammate Bobby Abreu. Rollins is also the only National League shortstop to be named MVP in the past 18 seasons, and he's the only shortstop ever with more than 200 home runs and 400 stolen bases.

Which is weird because I feel like when people think of the best shortstops of the past 15 years, Rollins' name rarely comes to mind. I'd wager a bet that most fans wouldn't have him in their top-three, or probably even their top five. I'd imagine Jeter tops everyone's list, and is followed in some order by Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Michael Young, Miguel Tejada, and Rollins.

But because of Rollins's durability and longevity (ten seasons with at least 154 games played and a dozen with over 600 plate appearances), his counting numbers are better than all of them (except Jeter) and numerous other shortstops that came before him. J-Roll has scored more runs than Joe Cronin and Ozzie Smith, clubbed more doubles than Luke Appling, and compiled more base knocks than Pee Wee Reese. He's also hit more home runs than Barry Larkin and Alan Trammell (his second and fourth-best comps, respectively), and stolen more bases than Jeter and Omar Vizquel.  His rate stats aren't great, though his .753 OPS isn't far off from Robin Yount's .772 mark

When all is said and done, Rollins could rank within the top-ten all-time among shortstops in runs scored (he needs 130, or about two more decent seasons, to get there). He's already eighth in doubles with 466 and only needs three more to pass Tejada. Similarly he needs just four home runs to pass Rico Petrocelli at 210 and break into the top ten. 2,500 hits would put him in the top-12, and 2,600 would vault him into the top ten.

So while Rollins isn't Hall of Fame worthy quite yet, he's going to be an interesting candidate if he keeps climbing the leaderboards over the next few years. Assuming he winds up with around 2,500 hits, 500 doubles, 1,400 runs, 250 homers, 500 steals, and 1,000 RBI, the switch-hitting speedster will have a diverse statistical portfolio unlike that of any other shortstop that would seem to merit indeuction. At 35 he still has a few more years in front of them, years that will make or break his Cooperstown case. If he falls apart next year and is forced to retire, I don't think he makes it in. But if he has a couple more solid seasons and hangs around until his 40th birthday like Jeter, then his career numbers are going to be too impressive to overlook.

Drew Returns

Drew rejoins a Red Sox team that needs him now more than ever (Boston Herald)

Seven months after rejecting Boston's qualifying offer, Stephen Drew is a Red Sock once again.

Drew, who was reportedly eyeing a multi-year deal, instead settled for a one-year, $10.2 million contract that nearly matches the one he signed with Boston a year and a half ago.

Much has changed since then. The Red Sox bounced back from a 93-loss season to win the World Series, and Drew re-established himself as one of baseball's better shortstops after struggling with injuries in 2011 and 2012. Though Drew struggled mightily in the postseason, John Farrell stuck with him because of his plus defense and was rewarded with terrific glovework from J.D. Drew's little brother.

Less than two weeks after helping Boston win its third championship of the millennium, Drew was a free agent. The Red Sox, with Xander Bogaerts lined up to inherit his job, did not make much of an effort to bring Drew back and seemed ready to move on without him in 2014.

But there was a surprising lack of interest in Drew, largely because any team that signed him would have to forfeit a draft pick to Boston. So even though several teams (the Mets, Yankees, Tigers specifically) had a clear need at shortstop, they entered the season without even making Drew so much as an offer. It appeared that he would have to wait until after the MLB Amateur Draft in early June to land a deal.

That allowed the Sox to swoop in and sign the 31 year-old two weeks before the draft. All it took was a pro-rated version of qualifying offer, which Drew wished he'd accepted in the first place as he began the season without a home. It seems strange to me that he would sign now, when he probably could have fetched more money (and another year, probably) had Scott Boras made him wait just two more weeks. Not only did the Red Sox get a great deal, but they also kept him away from teams that needed him more than they did.

But make no mistake; Boston needs Drew. He joins a team that is sinking fast and growing desperate for someone to light a spark under them. They need someone who can stretch out the lineup and play solid defense, and Drew does both of those things.

He isn't going save the Red Sox season by himself, but he does make them better. His  return bumps Bogaerts to third base, which upgrades the defense at short and improves the offense at third by taking at-bats away from replacement level-Brock Holt (and probably Will Middlebrooks when he returns from the DL). Drew's going to need some time in the minors to face live pitching, but still has enough time to add two or three wins to the Red Sox by himself, assuming he plays at the level he did last year.

That's not going to matter much if they keep wallowing below .500, but it's a start.

Simmons Latest Brave to be Rewarded

Simmons was worth almost seven bWAR last year largely because of his defense

At the rate they're going, the Atlanta Braves will have their entire team signed through the end of the decade by Opening Day.

Andrelton Simmons is the latest Braves to be rewarded with a payday, following in the footsteps of Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, and Julio Teheran. Simmons received a seven-year, $58 million extension that covers all his arbitration seasons and first two free agent seasons. The deal runs through his age 30 season, which means the Braves won't have to pay for much, if any, of his decline phase.

Assuming Simmons stays healthy, Atlanta's going to get tons of value out of this deal. His masterful glovework at shortstop makes him the most valuable defender in the game, so much so that he had one of the best defensive seasons in recorded history last year. And he's no slouch with the bat either, having hit 17 home runs last year and posting an .807 OPS from July 14th onward. Just 24, he figures to get better with age as he enters his prime years.

I like this deal much better than the one Texas gave to Elvis Andrus last year at the same age. Andrus was more established with four full seasons and two All-Star appearances under his belt, but the difference between the two skills-wise isn't enough to justify Andrus getting an extra year and twice as much money.

In fact, I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that Simmons will have the better career. Just last year alone, Simmons hit almost as many home runs as Andrus has hit in his entire career. Simmons also did so while striking out nearly half as often as Andrus does and while working a similar number of walks. Andrus is a better baserunner and plays good defense, but Simmons is so good defensively that he makes up whatever advantages Andrus has and then some.

So while it's hard to imagine Simmons getting such a deal in less enlightened times (he did hit only .248/.296/.396 last year, after all), it stands to reason that Simmons could and should get better. He's going to earn every cent of that money.

What to Expect From Jeter?

An old, hurt, and washed-up Jeter has reached the end of the line (CBS)

Yesterday Derek Jeter sent shock waves through the baseball world when he announced the 2014 season will be his last. Like Mariano Rivera and Chipper Jones before him, Jeter will get to have a great farewell tour in his last go-round through the big leagues, giving fans everywhere one last opportunity to celebrate him before he heads off into retirement.

The news got me thinking: how is Jeter's final season going to play out on the diamond?

I see 2014--Jeter's 20th season--following one of two possible scenarios for him and his Yankees. The first has him playing well and New York making the playoffs, because that's what has happened most years of Jeter's career. The Yankees have missed the postseason just twice since he debuted in 1995, and maybe it would have only been once if Jeter was healthy last year and New York didn't have to lean on fill-ins Eduardo Nunez (-1.5 bWAR) and Reid Brignac.

As for Jeter's individual performance, don't forget how good he was the last time he was healthy. He's only one year removed from hitting .316/.362/.429 and leading the majors with 216 hits. Jeter probably isn't that player anymore, even if he was in the not-so-distant past. Still, expecting a strong closing act from Jeter isn't that far-fetched. It could happen. Just last year, Rivera came back from a torn ACL to pitch brilliantly at age 43. Surely Jeter's hoping to end his career on a high note as well.

But most players don't, and it's unlikely that Jeter will be one of the rare exceptions. He's going to turn 40 in June and played only 17 games last year. Plus he was terrible in those 17 games, hitting .190/.288/.254. He's at an age when even the best shortstops cease to be effective, and given last year's injury woes it's hard to predict some combination of Jeter staying healthy and productive in 2014. The projection systems on FanGraphs expect him to play around 120 games while hitting .270/.340/.375, well below his career norms, and even those estimates might be too generous.

The optimist in me wants to believe the Captain can keep stinging line drives and using that inside-out swing to dump singles into right field for one more summer, that he can hit something close to his .312 career average and not be a complete disaster at shortstop and lead New York deep into October. I'm a Red Sox fan, and I'd still love to see him craft the fairy-tale ending to his storybook career.

But the logical side of me--the part that knows better--sees Jeter struggling to survive his last season as a shell of his former self. We've seen it happen too many times in every sport, even to the greatest Yankees like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle. Father Time catches up to everyone at some point, which is why so few athletes go out on top. Not everyone gets to hit a home run in his final at-bat like Ted Williams did.

So we shouldn't expect Jeter to, especially since he's averaged only eight home runs per season over the last four years.

Young Bows Out

Young is leaving the game before his performance starts to suffer (ESPN)

It's fitting that two days after Lance Berkman called it quits, Michael Young is following him out the door. Fitting because they were both gifted hitters who made their names playing 257 miles from each other in Texas: Berkman in Houston and Young in Arlington.

Born eight months apart in 1976, they retired just two days apart in 2014, each at the age of 37 after enduring back-to-back disappointing seasons. But whereas Berkman was more or less forced out by injuries, Young is choosing to leave the game on his own terms after playing 147 games for the Phillies and Dodgers last year and batting a respectable .279 with a 102 OPS+.

Even still, their careers overlapped pretty well, which is funny considering how different they were as ballplayers. Berkman was a native Texan and a lumbering, switch-hitting slugger who played first base and left field, while Young hailed from California and was more of a slap-hitting shortstop. It's surprising, then, just how well some of their career totals match up:

Berkman: 1,879 G, 1,146 R, 422 2B, 86 SB, .293 Avg, 3,485 TB, six All-Stars
Young: 1,970 G, 1,137 R, 441 2B, 90 SB, .300 Avg, 3,491 TB, seven All-Stars

And here are some other similarities:

-Berkman debuted in 1999, one year before Young played his first big league game
-Both played at least 100 games at four different positions (not counting DH) and were very poor fielders
-After having somewhat down years in 2010, both bounced back for one last big season in 2011, when each made the All-Star team. Berkman finished seventh in the NL MVP voting while Young placed eighth in the AL race
-Both were traded away from their Texas teams and finished their careers elsewhere (though Berkman eventually made his way back to Texas to play for the Rangers)
-Neither won an MVP or Silver Slugger
-Both played in two World Series, including the 2011 Fall Classic when Berkman's Cardinals beat Young's Rangers in seven games

But that's enough about Berkman. I haven't written extensively about Young since he got his 2,000th career hit back in the summer of 2011--his last great season. He batted .338 with 106 RBI--both career highs--while sharing the major league lead for hits (213) with Boston's Adrian Gonzalez. At the time, he seemed to have an outside chance at 3,000 hits.

Then the following year, at age 35, his numbers dropped dramatically. His batting average plummeted more than 60 points, his OBP nearly 70, and his slugging by more than 100. Sensing the end was near, Texas traded him to the Phillies with cash for a pitching prospect (Lisalverto Bonilla) and a nothing reliever (Josh Lindblom).

There was hope that Young might be able to revive his career in Philadelphia, but all he did there was round out an aging infield of washed-up stars that already included Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Young's numbers were almost identical to his 2012 production, and at the end of August the Phillies dealt him to the Dodgers for a pitching prospect (Rob Rasmussen) with a 6.46 ERA in Triple-A. Young was lucky to jump off the sinking Phillies ship and climb aboard the contending Dodgers just in time for the playoffs, but his last shot at that ever-elusive World Series ring was derailed by an old nemesis (St. Louis) in the NLCS. Young didn't do much to help matters there, coming up empty in all seven of his plate appearances.

So rather than hang around to pad his hit totals and chase a ring, Young called it a day. He can protect his .300 career batting average and leave long before he hits rock bottom. It's better this way.

A couple months from now Derek Jeter may have wished he'd done the same thing. I bring up Jeter in part because he is another shortstop in his late 30s (soon to be 40, actually), but also because I want to call attention to just how similar they were for a full decade. Check out how close they were from 2002--Young's first full season--through 2012--Jeter's most recent (and probably last) full season.

Jeter: 7,644 PA  1,153 R  2,105 H  336 2B  156 HR  .309/.376/.435  .811 OPS 114 OPS+
Young: 7,616 PA  1,028 R  2,134 H  396 2B 166 HR .304/.350/.447 .796 OPS 106 OPS+

I'm really surprised Jeter doesn't show up as one of Young's comps on his B-R page. They were very durable. They also struck out a good amount and bounced into a lot of double plays. Defensively they were about the same, with Young costing his team 8.6 wins and 126 runs with his glove while Jeter cost the Yankees 7.8 wins and 160 runs. Jeter, of course, was a much better baserunner with almost three times as many steals, and compensated for Young's power edge by getting on base more often. The point is that Young was very nearly Jeter's equal as a hitter for a long time. Take away 2002 (when Young had a .690 OPS) and 2012 (.682), and he comes out ahead.

That said, it can not be ignored the degree to which Young's numbers were enhanced by playing half his games in Texas. Like many hitters, Young got a big boost from his home ballpark. He batted a George Brett-esque .320/.368/.479 in Arlington, and if he had hit that well everywhere else we'd probably be discussing him as a serious Hall of Fame contender. As it were, his road OPS is more than 100 points lower.

For that reason (and others), Young was simply not as good as his numbers suggest. FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference agree he was worth around 25 WAR for his career, which leaves him well short of the Hall of Fame. JAWs has him as the 92nd best shortstop of all time, which seems baffling considering a lot of his counting numbers rank within the position's top 20. On the surface, a .300 career hitter who played the vast majority of his games at shortstop, second base and third base (all premium positions) would appear to be a very valuable player. Where was the disagreement between perception and reality coming from?

For starters, Young's offense really wasn't worth that much--about 60 runs for his career according to FanGraphs. Taking everything into account, that makes sense. Yes, Young got a lot of hits (six seasons with more than 200) and hit for some power (almost 700 extra base hits), but he didn't walk that much (typically around 50 times per season) so his on-base percentage of .346 is merely good, not great. Most of his power was in the form of doubles which obviously are not as valuable as home runs, so his career .141 ISo and .342 wOBA aren't very impressive either.

When he did get on he was a slightly above average baserunner, but any value he provided there was canceled out by his propensity for grounding into double plays. He also struck out quite a bit for somebody who never hit 25 home runs in a season. Throw in his friendly home park and the high-scoring era in which he played, and his numbers aren't anything special, as his .265 True Average and 104 wRC+/OPS+ indicate. He was only 61 runs better than the average hitter over the course of his career, which works out to be about 4.36 runs above average per year.

Then add to the mix his subpar glovework (2008 Gold Glove notwithstanding) which subtracts about a win per season from his value (two in his later years), and we're left with a slightly better than average hitter who has some nice counting numbers.

I don't mean to take anything away from Young. He was a good player for many years, a batting champion who set Rangers franchise records in numerous categories. But he's not a Hall of Famer (even though five of his ten best statistical comps are, and he probably would have been had he played in the 1920s or 30s), and not as good as some of his numbers suggest. Young is a perfect example of how advanced metrics and analysis can paint a more complete picture than those old-school statistics (like hits, RBI and batting average) ever can.