Derek Jeter’s position when it comes to his contract negotiations appears to be this: I am Derek Jeter, pay me.
It doesn’t matter he has almost no leverage or he is coming off his worst season or the production of shortstops 37 and older in major league history is dismal.
Logic and facts are not supposed to matter. All that is supposed to matter is this: I am Derek Jeter, pay me.
The Yankees have offered Jeter $45 million over three years, which is being portrayed by the shortstop’s increasingly desperate camp as an insult. Except, of course, it is hard to find another organization ready to insult Jeter in similar fashion.
And even if there were such an organization, Jeter would not want to go. That combination gives the Yankees a little thing called leverage.
When Jeter had the leverage a decade ago, he translated it into a 10-year, $189 million contract. Now the Yankees are not supposed to use their leverage. Why? Because I am Derek Jeter, pay me.
The Jeter camp described the negotiations as baffling. Really? It is baffling that the Yankees want to pay Jeter for what he is and what he projects to be in his declining seasons rather than for what he was?
They already have paid $205 million for his prime, a little fact the Jeter camp does not acknowledge much publicly. After all, it is hard to evoke sympathy with the fans/media about disrespect when the disrespecting party is offering a deal that would make Jeter a lifetime quarter-of-a-billion dollar player.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman told The Post’s George King “there is nothing baffling about our position. . . . Our primary focus is his on-the-field performance the last couple of years in conjunction with his age, and we have some concerns in that area that need to be addressed in a deal going forward.”
Jeter can’t argue the age or production concerns well, so he will try emotion, tied to throwing out ceremonial first pitches in 2021 or some other nonsense. It all comes down to this argument, though: I am Derek Jeter, pay me.
The facts are, Jeter just concluded his age-36 season ranked 115th among qualifiers in on-base plus slugging percentage (.710). The guy who finished two spots behind him (.702) was Jhonny Peralta, also a free agent shortstop. He received just a two-year, $11.25 million deal from the Tigers (so much for Jeter going home to Michigan).
Could Jeter be Hall of Fame-ish rather than Peralta-like in 2011? Sure. But it would defy major league history. Only two shortstops 37 or older have ever produced qualifying seasons with better than even a .750 OPS: Honus Wagner and Luke Appling; and it was last done by Appling in 1949. Should an organization actually have to gamble more than $45 million that Jeter breaks a 61-year trend?
Look, a lot of this is about an elephant in the room named Alex Rodriguez. If you love Jeter — and why wouldn’t you love someone who has helped bring championships and honor to the uniform? — you are appalled the Yankees would take care of A-Rod through age 42, but not Jeter.
But the Yankees know now the A-Rod deal was a blunder. They saw A-Rod gimpy with his hip issues in 2010 and have to wonder if at some point they will have to eat $100 million or more of a contract that runs through 2017. A-Rod might be the Yankees’ Albert Belle.
So the argument of the Jeter faithful is: “Hey, you made a mistake with A-Rod and that means you have to make the same mistake with our guy. You have to turn to the left side of your infield into Jurassic Park.”
Rodriguez feasted on the desperation and inexperience of new ownership (Hal and Hank Steinbrenner were taking over from George). Hank is gone from the day-to-day operations now, and Hal is more seasoned. But also remember Rodriguez had the leverage of a 2007 MVP season in which he hit 54 homers and drove in 156 runs. Even last season, in a down year, Rodriguez produced an .847 OPS — 10 points higher than Jeter’s career mark and a total Jeter exceeded just three times during the 10-year contract that covered his prime.
Yes, now we will hear about intangibles. But how did those intangibles translate last year when Jeter led the majors in making outs?
Three years at $45 million is no insult, it is a gift for a fading icon. It is hard to find a reason to go higher except this: I am Derek Jeter, pay me.
joel.sherman@nypost.com