Derek Jeter recorded his 3000th hit today, a solo shot off of Rays starter David Price in the third. He is only the second player ever to record his 3000th on a long ball, the first being Wade Boggs when he was a member of the Rays when they sucked. That's all well and good but what is really interesting though is that even with the Yanks significant history Jeter is only the first to record all 3000 career hits while wearing the pinstripes. Even as a die hard Sox fan you have to respect Jeter. Guy plays the game the right way, says the right things, granted he acted like a bitch this offseason trying to get a contract he didn't deserve. But who cares, he only has probably four more years left in this game, why not get as much as you can?
But even though Jeter is the first Yankee to hit 3000, is the second playing in the same infield? Robinson Cano was never expected to hit as well as he has in the Majors. He was a marginal prospect in the minors but ever since taking over second base for New York all he has done is hit. Jeter came up as a 21 year old in 1995 and recorded 1199 hits from 1995-2001. Cano was a year older and has done nothing but hit, recording 1075 in his first six seasons from 2005-2010. Jete dog had 2150 after his first 12 big league seasons, Cano is on pace to match that in his first 12 big league seasons. Cano will obviously be a year older and will have to cut down on his free swinging but he could match the Captains feat around his 38th birthday. Naturally this all depends on if the Yanks keep Robby around.
- But a bigger question is, could Cano actually become a better Yankee than Jeter? He hits for more power,drives in as many runs, and actually plays very good defense as opposed to sports writers giving Jeter a gold glove because he's cool. The only thing in Derek's favor is he gets on base more. Could be an interesting debate in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment