Jeter's defensive prime

Actually Derek Jeter spoke about the conversation himself.  When presented with data over the prior several seasons that he needed to improve his quickness and range, Jeter asked, "So you knew this was a problem for multiple seasons?  Why didn't you tell me sooner, I could have been working on this all along?"  Jeter worked all off-season on his first step, positioning, flexibility, and explosion, which led to his first Gold Glove Award.  

Along with Jeter's strength in going back on pop ups and short outfield fly balls, Don Zimmer stated that Jeter was the best he ever saw at coming in on slow rollers and making the play.  That is saying something, as Zim only had about 70 years of experience watching MLB up close.  Moverover, Jeter was quite adept at going to his right and making the play in the hole - not the best but certainly adequately league average.  

Where Jeter always had a problem was going to his left, on grounders toward second base.  For some reason, Jeter did not see the ball or react to the ball as quickly to his glove hand side.  Secondly, when Jeter would dive to his left, he would never completely extend his glove arm, leading to a bent elbow and shortening his 6'3" frame.  Also, on the dive, Jeter's throwing hand would touch the dirt prior to his body, increasing sliding friction and further decreasing his reach.  I have written about this numerous times with our more tenured denizens on this and other forums.

Most pundits do not speak about the little things defensively at which Jeter excelled.  Any throw from the catcher or shovel from the second baseman, Jeter was money, snagging errant throws and tosses, while still having the athletic ability to make the play.  I used to berate Didi and Castro for always ending up on their butts on slides into second, poor throws from the catcher, and awkward plays.  Jeter had footwork and the balance to keep his feet and still get the out.  In and around the bag, Jeter was as proficient as anyone.  

Lastly, something that few discuss is that as a shortstop, the centerfielders playing behind Jeter were not blessed with even average arms (Bernie and Damon, most notably).  Meaning, Jeter often ranged farther to receive outfield throws, yet still had the arm strength and accuracy to relay home successfully.  Jeter's awareness hid those outfield weaknesses for years.  

I never bought the "worst defensive shortstop in MLB" argument, and we have seen - even with the advance of AI - defensive metrics have improved since 30 years ago, but they still are a work in progress.  DRS and OAA often do not coincide in their results for the best and worst fielders, even today.  

In short, Jeter had one glaring weakness defensively, to his left, which unfortunately usually results in the bulk of the defensive opportunities for a shortstop.