Is New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter overrated? Former MLB star Jose Canseco believes he is.
“Derek Jeter is the most overrated shortstop in MLB history,” Canseco wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
Canseco randomly chose a Wednesday morning to throw some serious shade at Jeter. The subject of Jeter being overrated is not new, however. Some fans have made the claim that Jeter would not have been as popular in the MLB world if he had played on a different team.
With that being said, Jeter has no shortage of supporters as well. Many Yankees fans still idolize the former shortstop.
A look at Derek Jeter's career with Yankees
Jeter's offensive statistics are unquestionably impressive. He slashed .310/.377/.440/.817. Jeter did not always provide much power, but he still knew how to take advantage of the short right field fence at Yankee Stadium.
Perhaps, though, Canseco is specifically referring to Jeter's defense at shortstop. Jeter won five Gold Glove Awards during his career. He finished his career with a .976 field percentage. Despite Jeter's attention-catching jump throw, his range was questionable. In fact, he ended up recording -165 defensive runs saved, a mark that is the lowest of all-time.
So is Derek Jeter overrated?
One can certainly argue that he was overrated as a defensive shortstop. Perhaps Jeter would have been a better all-around defender at third or second base. Nevertheless, he became a staple at shortstop for the Yankees throughout his career.
It is difficult to say that a five-time champion is overrated. This is especially true in baseball, where building a dynasty and winning World Series on a consistent basis is extremely rare. Yet, the Yankees accomplished the feat, winning the Fall Classic in 1996 and again in three consecutive seasons from 1998-2000. Jeter and New York would win another World Series in 2009.
Do you believe Jeter is overrated?