WHAT IF... These Stars Reversed Roles?

Manny Ramírez raised this question in June when he said on a Red Sox broadcast, "It's like if you put Jeter in Kansas City in those years, he was just a regular player."

-  SAM PAGE

ANCIENT RIDDLE: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Modern riddle: If a shortstop gets 3,000 hits in Kansas City and no one watches him on national TV, does he make the Hall of Fame?

Perhaps Ramírez picked on Jeter out of jealousy. The former Yankees captain recently made the Hall of Fame. Ramírez has fallen well short of induction six times, likely due to multiple performance-enhancing drug suspensions. Maybe he meant it as a backhanded compliment-the Red Sox legend also said, "You gotta understand this. If you haven't played in Boston or New York, you're not in the big leagues." Or perhaps the sound bite, like so many of his misadventures in left field, was just "Manny being Manny."

Whatever the case, he kind of sort of has a point. Kansas City Jeter would still be an impressive player. Any middle infielder with 3,465 hits makes it to Cooperstown. Consider, however, another famous shortstop from the 1990s: Barry Larkin. He had a .815 career OPS and 70.5 career WAR; Jeter had an .817 OPS and 71.3 WAR. They were statistically identical during their playing days, but not in retirement. Larkin received 51.6% of votes during his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Jeter got 99.8%.

Swap Larkin and Jeter, and the Yankees probably still win those championships. But then do the Reds become a title contender? Circumstances definitely play a role in an athlete's legend. How much depends a lot on the sport and the individual.

ROUND MOUND OF RENOWN