Passing of the Torch: Jose Reyes Surpasses Derek Jeter

Is there any doubt that Jose Reyes is now a far, far superior player to Derek Jeter? Yes Jeter won all those championships years ago, and yes he is still the Captain, and heart and Soul, of the Yankees. That was the past....a great past, but the past.

So the question for the present is as follows: Is Derek Jeter still a great, or even good, player? The numbers say no. The numbers also point to the inevitable decline that all stars go through.

Derek Jeter has had an exceptional career...a Hall of Fame career. But these days he is a singles hitter who can't play defense, and his bat and foot speed are not nearly what they once were. How often have you heard the phrase, "Past a diving Jeter!" as he again fails to move a few feet to grab a ground ball.

Jose Reyes, on the other hand, keeps getting better. He already has 39 extra base hits, and is on pace for an outstanding 75 extra base hits in 2008 after compiling 60 last year and 68 in 2006.

To put that in perspective for our Jeter vs Reyes comparison, Derek Jeter had the following extra base hit stats for the last three seasons:

2005: 49
2006: 56
2007: 55

And where do these two stars stand in 2008? A comparison of the numbers shows the following:

Jeter:

SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	79	315	48	88	15	3	4	35	25	38	5	2	.279	.342	.384	.726
Career	1914	7744	1427	2444	401	57	199	968	786	1329	269	72	.316	.387	.459	.846
Last 7	7	28	5	6	2	0	0	2	4	4	0	0	.214	.313	.286	.598
Projected	155	618	94	173	29	6	8	69	49	75	10	4	.279	.342	.384	.726

Reyes:

SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	83	353	62	104	20	10	9	37	35	45	28	9	.295	.355	.484	.840
Career	679	2871	482	819	138	62	54	279	210	349	262	67	.285	.334	.433	.767
Last 7	8	35	5	11	0	2	0	3	4	4	1	2	.314	.385	.429	.813
Projected	160	680	120	200	39	19	17	71	67	87	54	17	.295	.355	.484	.840

As you can see, Jose Reyes leads Jeter in every stat, in some cases by an embarrassingly wide margin. Moreover, Reyes has 39 XBH to Jeter's 22.

The bottom line is that Jose Reyes is now firmly entrenched as the best SS in New York--and it's not close.