The fact that Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira won Gold Gloves for the Yankees yesterday has been lost in the whole to-do over Derek Jeter also getting the award, even though advanced fielding metrics rank him as mediocre at best at shortstop these days. So why did Jeter win it? Is it his name, or something else at work?
Squawker Jon and I were talking about this last night. He joked that the MLB managers and coaches voted for Jeter to stick it to the Yankees in contract negotiations. Jon also noted that it’s going to be harder for the Yanks to talk to the captain about eventually moving off shortstop in such negotiations, now that Jeter’s agent Casey Close can point to Jeter winning his fifth Gold Glove.
While people like the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir are still doing the Jeter gushing, suggesting in an article entitled “Without Lifers Like Jeter, Yankees Lose Their Aura” that Jeter not only is responsible for the five rings, but for the new stadium, I’ve noticed that when it comes to Jeter getting the Gold Glove, even some Yankee fans think it’s a bit ridiculous.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
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