How will the last portion of Derek Jeter’s career play itself out? That’s one of the burning questions we’ve been asking around these parts for a few years now. Joe Pos takes a look at Jeter’s chance to catch Pete Rose for the all-time hits record (slim to none), and checks out how poorly even the best middle infielders age:

– Cal Ripken had his last great offensive year at 30, and his last good offensive year as a part-time player at 38.

– Robin Yount moved from shortstop to center field, the move many people believe Jeter will eventually make. Even so, he was barely a league average hitter after 34, and he retired at 37.

– Craig Biggio played until he was 41 — but he posted a 95 OPS+ his last eight seasons.

– Rogers Hornsby was a part-time player after age 33.

– Frankie Frisch was a part-time player after age 35.

– Charlie Gehringer played until he was 39, but he hit .225 his last two seasons.

– Robbie Alomar was done as a great player at 34.

There are a some old-time middle-infielders — Eddie Collins, Luke Appling, Honus Wagner — who played until their young 40s. Wagner played in a very different time, Collins was a shell of himself, and Appling was a very different hitter from Jeter (no power, hardly ever struck out, etc.).

Truth is, when you look at Derek Jeter’s comps … none of them aged especially well, except maybe Johnny Damon who is aging as we speak. Barry Larkin, Alan Trammell, Ryne Sandberg, Lou Whitaker — none of these guys were effective players into their late 30s.

[Picture by Walker Evans]