Fragile Freddy and WasWatching try to gauge Jeter's impact on pennant races. Freddy claims the Yankees would have missed the playoffs only twice without Jeter, and Lombardi puts the number at six. However, I would argue that their analysis is one sided. They are looking at the races in terms of the Yankees not having Jeter. But if the Yankees don't have Jeter, he's playing somewhere else. What if Jeter is playing shortstop in 1997 for the Angels instead of Gary DiSarcina? In 1997, Gary posted 6.3 win shares. Jeter put up 19.3 That a difference of 13 win shares, or four wins. If you trade the two two players the Yankees wild card lead goes from twelve games to four. They still make the playoffs, but the wild card race is competitive.