In Jeter's first 43 games in 2004: .189 BA, 36 Ks, .249 OBP, .528 OPS, and was 3 for 5 in SBs. In the rest of his 111 games of the seasn he hit .333 with 37 2Bs, 20 HRs, 62 RBIs, 95 Rs!!, and was 20 for 22 in SBs. He finished the season with a .292 BA and a .823 OBP. And now if anyone looks only at his yearly stats, 2004 just blends right in with the other ones.

Who is better, A-Rod or Jeter? A-Rod. Who do I want for my team? Well, that depends on what I need.

As Andy touched on a bit, people definitely have perception bias. When you make up your mind about something, you tend to remember the events that reinforce that perception and ignore those which contradict it. Jeter made his rep in NY a long time ago and it would be very difficult to change it now. Rodriguez unfortunately has established a different rep and isn't going to change that without a couple game-winning World Series homers. A-Rod has hit walk-off homers for the Yanks, but a couple days later he'll strike out in a big spot and he gets booed again. A few years back I think Jeter made the last out of the game with a potential tying run on base in something like 5 losses in a row, but no one noticed. Now, all that said, the fans are not completely "wrong." If you look at A-Rod's yearly high-leverage splits, his tOPS+ as a Yankee appears to be only a little over 90. So as a Yankee there is some truth to the rumor he does not perform quite as well in the big spots. Now even over 5+ seasons, that can still be a sample size issue, but the games have been played and it is what it is.

I agree that the evidence shows that Jeter does produce a larger portion of his production in the clutch as evidenced by the leverage splits, but I guess I am in the minority in viewing that as a deficit instead of an asset. It seems to me, however, that if A-Rod's production is still higher than Jeter's in high leverage situations, there should still be more “A-Rod moments” than “Jeter moments” for the fans to remember. Perhaps its just because the fans expect there to be more A-Rod moments? We expect our superstars to produce memorable moments, but when average everyday players – and especially when bench players – produce in pressure situations, they are remembered longer and more fondly because that was unexpected. (Not that Jeter is an “average everyday player”, mind you.) My guess is that the difference in the fans’ perceptions has more to do with A-Rod’s and Jeter’s personalities and off-field activities than with a fair assessment of their on-field performance.

I've also heard it said that in critical game situations, there is extra motivation (some say adrenaline) that allows any player to perform above their usual ceiling--and that this is what we see from Jeter and not from A-rod---i.e. that A-rod produces at 100% all the time but Jeter rises to 110% sometimes. Again...truth or B.S.? no idea.

The one firm conclusion I do draw is that the perception is true that Jeter produces more of his output in critical situations--for better or for worse, that's the truth--and that fans value these players more because they remember their special achievements more.

I've always questioned the idea of putting "clutch hitters" on a pedestal. When players like Reggie Jackson or Derek Jeter produce “in the clutch”, against the best pitchers in the game, it shows me that they are fully capable of putting up those kind of numbers. So why don’t they do it the rest of the time, when they’re generally facing worse pitchers? In my book, a “clutch hitter” has a flaw, not an asset.

If I were a manager, I’ll take Mr. Consistency (A-Rod) over Mr. Clutch (Jeter) every time. …and I’d also put him at shortstop, too!