Derek Jeter Approaches 3,000 Hits and .250 Batting Average

Derek Jeter may be approaching 3,000 hits, but he is also approaching a .250 batting average. The New York Yankees shortstop and team captain is likely to be the next Major League player to reach the 3,000 hit plateau, but he will do it during his worst season in baseball. Midway through the Yankees' June 11 game against the Cleveland Indians, his batting average had dipped to .256 on the year.

Jeter has not been putting up great statistics this year, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he has been playing pretty badly. According to ESPN, he has only 12 extra base hits in his first 60 games of the year and has just a .324 on-base percentage from the leadoff position. In a career that is probably going to get him in the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, he has managed to notch a .312 batting average. It appears quite clear that he has not only lost a step on the base paths, but that his bat speed has slowed down during the 2011 MLB season.

The fans are still in love with Jeter though, no matter how badly he has played this year. It will likely lead to another starting spot on the American League All Star team, even though he will be the least deserving of any voted into the lineup this year. That .256 batting average is just an embarrassment, especially when he almost has as many strike outs as runs. For a player hitting at the top of one of the best offenses in all of baseball, he should be leading the league in runs scored.

There are several players far more deserving of a start at the 2011 All-Star Game, including Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians. Cabrera is hitting right around .300 for the season with 12 home runs and 42 RBI coming into the games of June 11. He is proving to be a catalyst for the resurgent Indians, and could be in the conversation for the best shortstop in the American League. That might not come into play when discussing what the voting fans want this year though.

Jeter is just nine hits away from joining the 3,000 hit club in baseball, and there is bound to be a lot of fanfare when he gets closer. Many had assumed he would already be there this year, but his hitting has not been up to par for the Yankees. As his struggles continue though, it's starting to become embarrassing that the Yankees don't drop him in that batting order. It surprises nobody that the Boston Red Sox already swept them twice this year.