That said, articles like this one in the Daily News are absurd. How can the author just discount Alex Rodriguez because he switched positions? The author takes the approach that SS is a defensive-oriented position (true) and so history shouldn’t reward the mashers that were hitting well to keep them at short until they were too poor defensively.

Had Arod’s defense fallen off a cliff and he was forced out of shortstop, then I could understand the consideration. But, not only is the assertion patently false, but it’s ironic in that Jeter was the poorer fielder.

ARod moved to 3B not because of eroded skills, but because he wanted to play on the Yankees and it would be a PR nightmare to replace Jeter at short (though it would have been optimal).

UZR only goes back to 2002, but in those final two years of Arod at short, here is how the two players measured.

2002
ARod: 12.6, Jeter: -0.2. In fact, the second highest UZR was Edgar Renteria with a 7.3. Arod’s UZR was 73% more productive than the second best!

2003:
Arod: 10.9, Jeter -2.2. Arod had the second highest UZR behind Adam Everett, who is regarded by many as today’s version of Ozzie Smith.

Jeter has never approached those fielding numbers and 2009 is the only season in which he rated well. At best, Jeter was about an average shortstop. At worst, he was considered by many as the worst defensive shortstop in the game.

UZR is not the only metric to consider, but it’s clear to anyone that tracked defense that Arod blew away Jeter.

Arod was not only one of the best hitters in the game, but he was consistently one of the best fielding shortstops in the game. Plus, he played several years at short, enough to qualify his hitting as all-time elite.

To exclude him from contention because he sacrificed his position for the Yankees is a dubious way to write headlines that Yankees fans will want to read.