Enough with the Jeter hype

By Eric Maus Sports Central Columnist

Derek Jeter is easily the most overrated "star" in Major League Baseball today. He receives so much praise from blind worshipers and so-called baseball experts that it makes my stomach turn.

Earlier this week, I watched a game in which Jeter had a bunt single off Kenny Rogers in which third baseman Herbert Perry was playing back. As Jeter ran down the line, ESPN's Jon Miller made off as if he had just witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ himself. Enough already.

Now before any Jeter fans or New Yorkers say to themselves, "Dude, this guy must be crazy -- Jetah is not overrated," let's not misunderstand me here. Jeter is a good player. His career averages of 17 HR's 84 RBI and a .319 BA is solid. He provides the Yankees with intangibles. He's a team leader. He has that winning mentality. He's clutch. He plays hard and is also one of the "good guys" in baseball. But, mentioning this guy in the same breath as the elite shortstops or other superstars of the game is simply ludicrous.

While Jeter has had some success in his career, he has never won a batting title like Nomar Garciaparra, who has won two. Alex Rodriguez has hit 30-plus homeruns in a season six times -- Jeter has only accomplished this feat once. Jeter's "web gems" are routine plays for Omar Vizquel. Heck, even the rarely mentioned Miguel Tejeda puts up numbers Jeter could only dream of producing (24 HRs, 86 RBI, .303 average so far this season).

Shall we compare Jeter to the other studs around the league like so many others foolishly do? Do you think Jeter's slugging percentage is even close to Barry Bonds'? Is he faster than Ichiro? Could he surpass odd Heltons' mind boggling OPS? The answer to these questions is, no. Unconditionally, no.

So, if Jeter's numbers are not superb, why does he receive all of this recognition?

Playing in New York doesn't hurt. He's on the Bronx Bombers, the team that has won 26 World Championships. When one plays on the Yankees at any level, it seems that his reputation is often superceded by the fact that he wears (or eventually will wear) pinstripes.

Remember when Peter Gammons proclaimed that Drew Henson would be a 50-homer guy in the big leagues? He has struck out 110 times for the Columbus Clippers this season and is seriously considering going back to football. Ricky Ledee was also one of those highly-touted prospects -- how did he turn out? And when the Yankees purchased Hideki Irabu, he was supposed to be named Cy Young, but instead, was named Fat Toad by George Steinbrenner.

Jeter's popularity and praise goes beyond this aforementioned "Yankees hype" -- it also has to do with the fact that he is very marketable. It's pretty easy to stick this N*SYNC look-alike on peanut butter ads and Saturday Night Live because he has instant face recognition. Women salivate over his looks and men respect him because of his great personality -- but they overlook that he tries way too hard to use an inside-out swing to take the ball the other way, rather than pull it most of the time when he should.

Maybe I am just taking out my frustrations on Jeter. Maybe I am jealous of those four World Series rings he has. Maybe I would love to have just a sniff of that $19 million a season he makes. And, maybe I am just bitter at him over the fact that every man on the planet would sell his soul to have a copy of his Little Black Book. But, still, that does not negate the fact that he is the most overrated star in baseball today.

Derek Jeter, thank God you play on the Yankees and have some charisma. If you played on the Milwaukee Brewers, no one would care about you. By the way, those 314-foot Danny Almonte shots you hit are not impressing anyone -- and wasn't Jeremy Giambi safe?

Article courtesy of Sports Central.