With a single to right field in the third inning of the Yankees 10-4 loss to the Orioles Friday, Derek Jeter collected his 2,722nd career hit and passed Lou Gehrig to become the New York Yankees all-time hit leader.  This is quite an accomplishment when you consider all the great players that have donned the pinstripes: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra.  They all had fewer hits than Derek Jeter. 

 This is all happening amidst, quite possibly, Jeter’s finest season.  As of 9/11/2009 Jeter is hitting .331 with 97 runs and 25 stolen bases.

As evidenced, here, here and here, Jeter was supposed to be in the decline of his career after he posted his worst statistical season in 2008.  However, what wasn’t widely publicized was the fact that Jeter battled through nagging injuries to his quadriceps and hand for most of the season. Despite all the injuries, he still managed to hit .300 with 88 runs and 69 RBI’s. Only Christian Guzman and Hanley Ramirez had higher batting averages as a shortstop.  

In a Sports Illustrated poll voted on by MLB players in 2008, Derek Jeter was named the most overrated player in the game.  Any intelligent baseball fan will tell you this is completely absurd. In fact, he might be underrated. (more…)