Jeter Is on Top of His Game at Top of the Batting Order

Derek Jeter is the prince of New York and brightest star of the latest Yankee dynasty.

That’s why Manager Joe Torre turned to Jeter with the Yankees facing another pivotal postseason moment, and the show-stopper delivered again.

With his friend Alex Rodriguez in attendance at Shea Stadium, Jeter provided a spark atop the batting order Wednesday night in a 3-2 victory over the Mets in Game 4 of the World Series before a sellout crowd of 55,290.

Hoping to jump-start the offense, Torre shuffled the order, moving Jeter from second to leadoff for the first time this series.

The all-star shortstop responded, hitting the game’s first pitch from Met starter Bobby J. Jones for a home run.

Jeter tripled in the third inning and scored on Luis Sojo’s groundout, helping the Yankees take a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the series while impressing all-star shortstop Rodriguez, who might join Jeter on the stage next season in a Met uniform.

The Yankees can end the Subway Series and win their 26th World Series tonight in Game 5.

The Yankees capitalized on Jeter’s regal performance, and that’s nothing new.

“He’s the man,” second baseman Sojo said of Jeter. “He’s the one you want to have up there with men on base, he’s our leader.

“When we saw him hit a home run on the first pitch of the game, we knew everything was going to be all right. We knew.”

Jeter has that affect.

On Wednesday, Jeter displayed the skills that have elevated him among baseball’s elite.

He drove Jones’ first pitch over the left-field wall, becoming only the eighth player to homer leading off a World Series game.

Jeter’s third-inning triple to right-center helped the Yankees take a 3-0 lead and accomplish an important goal.

“We’re playing at Shea Stadium, there are some Yankee fans here, but you want to take the crowd out of the game,” said Jeter, who has a 13-game World Series hitting streak. “When you’re playing in these types of games, runs can be hard to come by.”

Met Manager Bobby Valentine knows that too.

“Well, putting a run on the board was the difference in the game,” Valentine said. “It was a one-run game.”

Torre also figured things would be close again after the first three games, leading him back to his team leader.

“We won some games with Jeter in the No. 1 hole, he’s just batted second more than any other position,” Torre said. “But if I recall correctly, in the five years I’ve been here and he’s been here, he’s batted everywhere from first to ninth. I mean, when I say he’s comfortable, that’s just from my perspective. If you ask him, it doesn’t matter where he hits.

“He is not a [classic] leadoff hitter. He sees the ball, he’s going to swing at the ball and make things happen. I know he’s only been around five years, but he has a lot of qualities of taking charge and leading by example.”

Jeter, two for five, has eight hits in 18 at-bats in the series. He is batting .347 (25 for 72) in four World Series, and has reached base safely in 55 of 60 postseason games.

“Everyone wants to ask me if I change my approach when I bat leadoff,” said Jeter, trying to add a fourth championship ring to his collection. “Mr. Torre tells me to have the same approach; I’m aggressive.”

And Jeter’s approach has the Yankees on the verge of another October coronation.

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Leading the Way

Derek Jeter, batting leadoff for the first time in this World Series, hit Bobby J. Jones’ first pitch Wednesday for a home run in the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Mets that gave them a three-games-to-one lead. A breakdown of Jeter’s statistics as

a No. 1 and No. 2 hitter:

POSTSEASON, 2000

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AB R H HR BI BB SO OB% SLG% AVG. No. 1 17 2 5 1 3 1 2 .333 .588 .294 No. 2 42 10 14 2 5 10 14 .472 .620 .333

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REGULAR SEASON, 2000

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AB R H HR BI BB SO OB% SLG% AVG. No. 1 82 21 33 1 10 18 10 .514 .512 .402 No. 2 511 98 168 15 63 50 89 .398 .476 .329

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PREVIOUS THREE REGULAR SEASONS (1997-99)

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AB R H HR BI BB SO OB% SLG% AVG. No. 1 441 83 143 6 46 50 89 .399 .442 .324 No. 2 1,288 261 419 44 188 151 243 .400 .504 .325

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Note: For the sake of comparison, here are Jeter’s at-bat differentials as No. 1 and No. 2 batter for the 2000 postseason (2.47),

2000 regular season (6.23) and 1997-99 regular seasons (2.92).