Some Light Jeter Worship

Some satirical headlines are funny. Others are hilarious...until you realize that they're not satirical at all, and are actually meant to be taken seriously, at which point they immediately stop being funny and cause the reader to question the author's sanity. One such headline, courtesy of Barry Bloom, can be found right now on MLB.com:

Jeter deserving of serious MVP consideration

Hahahahaha oh wait--he's serious. Um. Go on...

NEW YORK -- It may be a little early to even begin the conversation, but if the regular season ends for the Yankees the way it's transpiring right now, Derek Jeter should be given heavy consideration by voting members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America as Most Valuable Player of the American League.

Jeter, the Yankees' All-Star shortstop and captain, is having a great season on the field. Coupled with his off-field leadership, he embodies the spirit of that award. Jeter's work ethic and day-to-day play not only make him the MVP of a team that is currently running away with the AL East, but the MVP of the entire league.

Somewhere, Robinson Cano is reading this and thinking to himself, "What the hell, man?"

OPS Leaders, 2012 New York Yankees
Robinson Cano: .957
Curtis Granderson: .864
Andruw Jones: .843
Mark Teixeira: .822
Nick Swisher: .819
Eric Chavez: .816
Alex Rodriguez: .789
Derek Jeter: .767
Raul Ibanez: .756
Russell Martin: .651

I'm pretty sure that you have to be the MVP of your own team before you can be considered for MVP of the league. And based on the above chart (verrrry complex stuff, mind you), Derek Jeter might be the fourth- or fifth-most dangerous hitter on any given day in the Yankees lineup. And it's not like he's saving runs on defense either.

"All the things he's done for the Yankees over the years he's doing this year, for sure," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, voicing an objective opinion from the opposing dugout before his club lost a 5-3 decision on Saturday. "There's obviously an incredible leadership he brings in the things he does day in and day out. His numbers speak for themselves. He's a Hall of Fame player."

Well then, I guess that renders any further argument moot, considering Mike Scioscia chooses the American League MVP every year.

Wait, that doesn't sound right.

To be sure, Scioscia has his own pair of highly regarded candidates in outfielder Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout. The Rangers' Josh Hamilton and Detroit's Miguel Cabrera also have to be near the top of any list.

In other words: "To be sure, there are tons of players out there having more MVP-like seasons than Derek Jeter, but I don't really care about them because they're not Derek Jeter."

But Jeter sets the tone in the Yankees' clubhouse, and he's the table-setter at the top of the lineup, starting rallies the sluggers below him often finish. To that point, Jeter is hitting .390 with a .405 on-base percentage and a 1.015 OPS when he leads off innings this season. On two occasions in the first two games of this high-pressure series against the Angels at Yankee Stadium, Jeter opened an inning with the Yankees trailing.

On Friday night he sparked a key eighth-inning, four-run rally with a double, later scoring on Mark Teixeira's tying three-run homer. The Yanks won that game, 6-5. On Saturday, with the Angels already leading, 2-0, heading into the bottom of the first, Jeter led off by beating out an infield single. Robinson Cano knocked him in with a two-run homer.

Those two paragraphs boiled down into a simple chart:

The Main Reasons Why Derek Jeter Should Be The MVP, According to Barry Bloom:
1. He's good at setting things (tone, tables, etc.)
2. This must be doubly-true because it just happened on BOTH Thursday AND Friday
3. He scores when Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano hit home runs (underrated skill)

...The MVP award would not only be acknowledgement for a job well done this season, but the culmination of a career in which the Yankees have won five World Series, seven AL pennants and been to the playoffs every year except one since 1995. Along the way, Jeter is a .313 lifetime hitter with a .382 on-base percentage and .830 OPS. But in his first 17 seasons, he's only been as high as second in the MVP voting once, and third twice.

This season ought to be his time to finish No. 1.

One last time, just for emphasis:

Derek Jeter:
310/.354/.413, .767 OPS, 7 HRs, 25 RBIs, Poor Defense

That One Dude Named Robinson Lucky Enough To Play Adjacent To Derek Jeter's Aura:
.315/.374/.582, .957 OPS, 21 HRs, 54 RBIs, Good Defense

Why is this even a discussion?