Rivalries old and new
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by BruceG
I am older than most of the people here in this Wiki, and I grew up in New York City, so I remember the great centerfield rivalry: "Which one is better: Mantle, Mays, or Snider?" Now, a lot of books rate Mays at the top of this group, but I'm enough of a Yankee fan to say I still favor Mickey, and would rather have him at his best than Willie if I could put together a team.
A few years ago a new rivalry hit the sports pages, though it was not all in one city or even one part of the country (though 2 out of three were in the AL East!), the great shortstop rivalry: "Which one is better: Jeter, Rodriguez, or Garciaparra?" The fact that only one of these is still playing shortstop, I think, helps answer that question (In fach, Garciaparra is not only no longer a shortstop, but no longer in the AL!) But some people are still trying to set up a rivalry between A-Rod and Derek Jeter.
The fact is, A-Rod is one of the best third basemen the Yankees have ever had, and Jeter is the best shortstop (And I say this remembering Phil Rizzuto, who I would have called the greatest up to Jeter's arrival). And certainly both are great players, and if A-Rod wasn't, the Yanks and Red Sox wouldn't have been both trying as hard as they did to get him. And it speaks volumes about how great a team player A-Rod is that he was willing to move to third base so the Yankees could keep Jeter at short. But the Yankee management certainly felt that Jeter was the better shortstop, which is why he's there and A-Rod is one place over to his right.
Don't get me wrong. I am not putting A-Rod down. The Yankees need both those two players. But Let's get the facts straight.
