Perfect Season Why 1998 Was Baseball's Greatest Year

August 29, September 2, and September 19 Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, and Alex Rodriguez Talk about star power. A few years after the advent of the Three Tenors, The Three Shortstops made their first big splash. Just as Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carerras had done much to popularize opera with the masses, the equally dynamic trio of New York's Derek Jeter, Boston's Nomar Garciaparra and Seattle's Alex Rodriguez would rekindle America's interest in baseball in the post-strike years. They were able to have such impact on a disgruntled public by injecting the sport with an exciting blend of youth, talent, and undeniable class. The three young superstars are always talked about in the same breath, for obvious reasons. First of all, they became instant-impact players at early ages and at virtually the same time--Jeter at 22 and Rodriguez at 21 first played extensively in 1996, Garciaparra at 24 debuted in 1997. Second, they have other similar credentials: Jeter and Garciaparra were Rookies of the Year; Rodriguez was second to Juan Gonzalez in the MVP race in 1996 and Garciaparra and Jeter finished second and third to Gonzalez in 1998; all three have been All-Stars (with Rodriguez becoming the youngest All-Star shortstop in '96). Also: As is indicated by their many rave quotes about each other's play and personalities, they quickly formed a very public mutual admiration society -- in fact, Jeter and Rodriguez have become the best of friends. Most significant, because there are three of them rather than just one groundbreaker -- as was the case with Cal Ripken, Jr. -- they have had the enormous effect of forever redefining the shortstop position. (Ozzie Smith changed the position also, but only defensively.) It's not just that they are tall for shortstops -- Rodriguez and Jeter are 6'3" and Garciaparra is 6'0" -- but that they are all both excellent fielders and excellent power hitters. They have exhibited the range, grace, and creativeness to rank just below Gold-Glovers Omar Vizquel and Rey Ordonez in the field, so in years past they wouldn't have been required to hit for average, must less power. Yet these three do both. Last year, Jeter, who became the first Yankee shortstop since Phil Rizzuto in 1950 to collect 200 hits, batted .324, Garciaparra .323, and Rodriguez .310. And they had pop in their bats: third-place hitter Rodriguez drove in 124 runs, cleanup hitter Garciaparra had 122 RBIs, and Jeter knocked in 84 from the second spot in the order. Only once in a blue moon is an excellent fielding shortstop associated with the long ball -- again, the 6'4" Cal Ripen, Jr. was an anomaly -- yet consider that last year all three shortstops hit milestone home runs: On August 29, in an 11-6 victory over the Mariners that resulted in the Yankees clinching a postseason spot the earliest in their history, Jeter made a leaping catch, scored 4 runs, and had 3 hits, including his 17th homer to set the team record for shortstops. He would increase his new record to 19 homers by season's end. On September 2, GarciaparrMcCarver, Tim is the author of 'Perfect Season Why 1998 Was Baseball's Greatest Year' with ISBN 9780812991710 and ISBN 0812991710.