Alright Yankees fans, here is a little quiz for you:

Which of the following stat lines is the post-season batting performance for Alex Rodriguez, and which is the post-season batting performance for Derek Jeter?

I know what you are thinking – neither of these could be Derek Jeter, because he hits .600 in the playoffs, and scores every time he comes up to the plate.  Well, not really.  Player A is Derek Jeter, and Player B is Alex Rodriguez.  As you can see, other than runs per game, and a slight advantage in BB/K and batting average, Alex Rodriguez tops Derek Jeter in each of these categories.

Now, Derek Jeter has played more games overall, so if you want to look at totals, go right ahead.  You will find that Jeter’s career post-season totals in 115 games far exceed ARod’s career post-season totals in 31 games.  I guess my only response to that is – no kidding!

I suppose a Yankees fan could also argue that the Yankees have gotten to more post-season series because Jeter is a better player than ARod.  Actually, that is exactly what a Yankees fan would argue.  But there are many players in the major leagues who are better than Derek Jeter who have not gotten to as many playoff series as he has, because getting to the playoffs is about the team, not the individual player.

But I have digressed, and now I would like to return to ARod vs. Jeter.  I noted above Jeter’s slight advantage in post-season batting average - .307 vs. .305. Obviously, advantage Jeter.  Except . . .

Derek Jeter’s career regular season batting average is .317, while his career post-season batting average is .307.  Does this mean that he is hitting 10 points lower in the post-season?   This doesn’t indicate clutch performance to me.  Sorry.  And ARod?  A career .305 hitter.  Hitting .305 in the post-season.  Hmmm – no drop off at all.

What about on-base percentage?  Derek Jeter’s career regular season OBP is .388, while his career post-season OBP is .379 – again, a drop off.  ARod’s career regular season OBP is .386, while his career post-season OBP is .393 – an increase!

Okay, okay, okay – what about slugging percentage?  Derek Jeter has a career regular season slugging percentage of .463, while his career post-season slugging percentage is – wow! - .463.  Dead on.  ARod’s career slugging percentage is .573, while his career post-season slugging percentage is – eek! - .534!  ARod’s career post-season slugging percentage is 39 points lower than his career regular season slugging percentage.

Holy Crap – ARod’s a choker!