Countdown to Opening Day - 2: The torch at short has officially been passed
In this 30-day series, theScore's MLB editors will preview the 2015 season with an in-depth look at some of the significant numbers - statistical milestones, jersey numbers and general miscellanea - poised to pop up throughout the campaign.
Derek Jeter isn't a member of the New York Yankees for the first time since 1995.
The game lost a five-time champion, the captain of the most recognizable brand in sports, a 14-time All-Star and a player who ranks sixth on the all-time hits leaderboard. Long the face of the sport, he's one of the greatest players of his generation, among the best to wear the Yankee uniform and to ever play shortstop.
Jeter may be gone, but there's a Hall of Fame talent patrolling the same position and wearing the same number as the Yankees legend.
Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who dons Jeter's iconic No. 2 and plays short because of him, has taken over the reins as the poster boy of the position.
Tulowitzki may not be close to reaching his idol's legendary status, but he's on a shortlist of the most gifted players in the game and miles ahead of the next best shortstop.
A power hitter who defensively plays the position at an elite level, Tulowitzki's a rare talent. His .603 slugging percentage, .444 weighted on-base average and 171 weighted runs created were baseball's top marks in 2014 (minimum 350 plate appearances). His .340 batting average was second.
The 30-year-old is a 24-homer season away from becoming the 12th shortstop ever to go deep 200 times. His .219 isolated power percentage trails only Alex Rodriguez and Ernie Banks among shortstops, and A-Rod's the only one topping Tulowitzki's .891 career OPS.
While Tulowitzki has taken advantage of playing his home games at Coors Field, he's a .274/.349/.469 career hitter on the road. The 2005 first rounder's OPS+, which adjusts for league and ballpark effects, is the fifth-best ever for a shortstop behind A-Rod, two Half of Famers and Hanley Ramirez.
Tulowitzki was 5.3 WAR in each of the last two seasons and led all shortstops with 46 homers, despite missing 36 games in 2013 and 71 in 2014. Home runs aren't the only category he's paced the position at over that stretch.
| 2013-14 | AVG | BB% | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulowitzki | .323 (1) | 12.1 (1) | .974 (1) | 10.6 (1) |
Nine position players topped Tulowitzki's WAR from 2013-14 and every one ranking in the top 20 played 50-plus more games than him. Tulowitzki has been 5-plus WAR in five of the last six seasons and topped 145 games only one of those years.
He's projected by ZiPS to produce another 5-plus WAR year in 2015.
Injuries have slowed the career of one of the game's elite, but Tulowitzki remains capable of manufacturing some of the best seasons ever seen by a shortstop.
Enjoy him. Like Jeter, talents like Tulowitzki don't come around very often.