Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed.

Bob Klapisch is projecting Damon in the leadoff spot next season. I like to stick it to Boston as much as any good New Yorker, and having their former hero leading the lineup would certainly do the trick. But I wonder if this is such a fantastic idea after all. Basically, the question is, how does Damon measure up to Jeter in the number one spot?

I am just looking at the very basic stats, for the last two seasons and for the career. It's a good comparison, I think, because they both played 11 seasons. I am not even considering park adjustment, even though that would prove my point even further. Take a look.

OBP	Jeter	Damon
2004	.352	.380
2005	.389	.366
career	.386	.353

Jeter and Damon are evenly matched. Jeter looks slightly better.

SLG	Jeter	Damon
2004	.471	.477
2005	.450	.439
career	.461	.431

Jeter and Damon are evenly matched. Jeter looks slightly better.

RC	Jeter	Damon
2004	103	113
2005	112	101
career	1079	944

Jeter and Damon are evenly matched. Jeter looks slightly better.

SB	Jeter	Damon
2004	23	19
2005	14	18
career	215	281

Jeter and Damon are evenly matched. Career SB% indicates the same thing - Damon's 78% to Jeter's 79%.

And just for fun...

Damon's HOF Monitor: Batting - 60.0 (292) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Jeter's HOF Monitor: Batting - 161.5 (62) (Likely HOFer > 100)

Granted, this is not a comprehensive analysis (although, if you adjust for Fenway, Jeter will come out looking even better). My conclusion is that Jeter should stay in the leadoff spot. Damon is a powerful addition to the lineup, but I wouldn't bat him first.