Waldstein: Derek Jeter has 2,734 games played and 3,450 hits; but how many swings?
From David Waldstein at the New York Times on September 15, 2014:
Several Yankees players were in the batting cages at spring training when one of them wondered how many swings had taken in his professional career — not only in regular major league games, but also during spring training games, All-Star Games, minor league games, off-season training and during his thousands of batting practices.
His teammates might as well have been calculating how many beers were sold at Yankee Stadium during his career, given that Jeter, who will retire after this season, is in his 20th as a major leaguer.
Baseball is driven by statistics. Before Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, Jeter had played in 2,734 games and had 3,450 regular-season hits, sixth most in history. He had also hit into 287 double plays, struck out 29 times against Pedro Martinez and never reached base on catcher’s interference.
But just swinging the bat, including practice? Even in the statistics-happy world of baseball, there is no record of that.
The conversation among his teammates piqued Jeter’s curiosity, so he agreed to help come up with a grand total for career swings.
Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/sports/baseball/derek-jeter-has-2734-games-and-3450-hits-swings-heres-a-ballpark-guess.html
Originally published: September 15, 2014. Last Updated: September 15, 2014.