The Shortstop Trinity
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by user Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)
Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Nomar Garciaparra combined to create the "Holy Trinity of Shortstops." The birth of the Trinity occured in 1998. A-Rod was the youngest at 22, while the other two were 24. Rodriguez had established himself in 1996, driving in 123 runs as a 20-year-old. Jeter showed star potential in both 1996 and 1997 before breaking out in '98. Nomah quickly went from Rookie of the Year in '97 to runner-up in the '98 MVP voting.
According to BaseballProspectus' VORP, which is the measure of a player's contribution in runs above a replacement player, adjusted by position, the Trinity destroyed the competition at shortstop in the AL. A-Rod, Nomar, and Jeter tallied VORP's of 87.0, 79.5, and 71.1, respectively. Omar Vizquel came in at fourth with 29.4. To put this in perspective, the shortstops ranked 3rd, 6th, and 8th in the majors. Vizquel sat at 74th. It was safe to say these three were in a class of their own.
In 1999 and 2000, the Trinity stayed intact. Vizquel threatened, but did not pass A-Rod, who missed time, in 1999. Tejada emerged in 2000. Still, the other three were able to maintain a more than comfortable distance. 2001 saw a temporary casualty with Garciaparra missing all but 21 games. Tejada finished third in VORP, but did not challenge Jeter or Rodriguez.
The Trinity officially became a Quartet in 2002. Tejada had slightly edged out Jeter (58.6 to 52.1) to force himself into the mix. Again in 2003, the order was Rodriguez, Garciaparra, Tejada, and Jeter. From here, things fell apart. A-Rod was traded to New York, shifting to thirdbase. Garciaparra suffered through injuries, before being traded out of the AL. Tejada signed with Baltimore, enjoying a career year.
This did not leave the position totally empty. In fact, two players in their prime, Michael Young and Carlos Guillen, joined Jeter and Tejada. The VORPs in this group ranged from 65.1 with Tejada to Young's 51.9. It dropped off to 26.3 by, guess who, Vizquel. Last season, the position lost Guillen to injury, but gained a young stud in Jhonny Peralta.
Finally, this leaves us at the current state of SS in the AL. It appears as if the shortstop position has fallen back to three talented players. These consist of Jeter, Tejada, and Guillen. This "New Trinity" will never match the play of the old. However, some young guys like B.J. Upton, Peralta or, to a lesser degree, Bobby Crosby still have the potential to rise to the top. Even Mike Young sits just outside the top.
The only man to make the full journey from 1998-2006 was Jeter. Although, it could have, and arguably should have, been Rodriguez, who was the better defensive shortstop. Baseball is an unpredictable game. People were ready to induct the Big Three(Hudson, Mulder, and Zito) into the Hall of Fame not too long ago. Now, Hudson and Mulder are having less than stellar seasons in their prime. The Holy Trinity of Shortstops fell apart rather quickly. The media or fans may attempt to declare a Trinity somewhere, maybe thirdbase with David Wright, Miguel Cabrera, and Ryan Zimmerman, for example. It will be interesting to look back in the future and see how those predictions turned out.
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Date
Mon 09/04/06, 6:47 am EST
