1938

Rogers Hornsby

The worst defensive middle infielder in the Hall-of-Fame.  Still better than Derek Jeter.  He could hit.  Led the league in WAR 11 times

Best modern day comparison: Manny Ramirez a sboth an all-time great hitter and a ditz


Ramirez was a far better hitter than Jeter and both were far below average defensively, yet they are somehow near equal in value.  That is because having Jeter standing at shortstop lets the Yankees put top hitters like Paul O'Neill and Hikeki Matsui at the corner outfield positions; having Ramirez in the outfield meant his teams had to put poor hitters like Omar Vizquel and Pokey Reese at shortstop

Imagine Jeter as a much better hitter, like .340 batting average with an additional five to 10 home runs every year ... that would be Rogers Hornsby