By CLAIRE SMITH

The Yankees' Phil Rizzuto had to wait 38 years before his induction into baseball's Hall of Fame certified the golden age of shortstops that he, Peewee Reese and Alvin Dark created in New York City in the 1940s and 1950s.

No one should wait that long to conclude that there is a renaissance under way in the middle infield.

Derek Jeter. Alex Rodriguez. Nomar Garciaparra. The shortstops for the Yankees, the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox, respectively, are the crown princes gracing the position today.

Their galaxy also includes several others: the Expos' under-appreciated Mark Grudzielanek; the Blue Jays' undiscovered Alex Gonzalez; the Mets' Rey Ordonez; the Indians' Omar Vizquel; the Cardinals' Royce Clayton and the Marlins' Edgar Renteria.

"If you really sat down and started naming all the shortstops, there's a certain excitement over that position that hasn't been there in a while," said the Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr., who redefined the position in the 1980s as one associated with offense as well as defense.

Once the dean of shortstops before ceding his position a year ago to Mike Bordick, Ripken, now playing third base, sees his successors continue to redefine the position with even smoother blends of defense and batting prowess. No one has caught his eye, or that of anyone else's, more than have Jeter, Rodriguez and Garciaparra.

Reese, Rizzuto and Dark may have made New York seem too small a city to contain their talents. But these days, the global village isn't big enough to contain what Jeter, Rodriguez and Garciaparra bring to the game.

"They are fabulously talented," said Ripken. "It's exciting to watch them develop. It's one of the great things about baseball to watch someone come to the big leagues with some raw skills and actually develop into really good players. And some of those things that those guys do are really fun to watch."

Entering Thursday night's finale against the Orioles, Jeter registered in the top five in the American League in batting (.341), runs scored (38 in 39 games), hits (59 in 173 at-bats) and in the top 10 in multi-hit games (16). He was tied for the team lead in homers, with seven.

Witty, urbane and completely at ease in New York's cauldron, Jeter owns this town as a professional and a personality. He is a matinee idol, as the squeals of little girls suggest each time he is introduced at Yankee Stadium. But make no mistake: There is a serious an artist at work here, as much as at any other spot in the Yankees' lineup.

Jeter has been the primary piston atop the Yankees' lineup, while Chuck Knoblauch continues to feel his way. The shortstop rarely misfires. He had a 15 game hitting streak, and it was not a cheap one, as his 11 hits in his last 23 at-bats (.478) show. "His potential is unlimited," said Ripken.

The only thing more incredible than Jeter is the fact that he is that hot and still trails Rodriguez in most every of the aforementioned categories.

Entering Thursday night's play, Rodriguez had played 45 games and collected more than one hit in 20 of them. Rodriguez, a .314 batter after 194 at-bats, ranked higher than Jeter in runs scored (38), hits (61) and runs batted in (37). He also had 18 doubles and a league-leading .680 slugging percentage.

But more incredibly, in the powerful kingdom of Ken Griffey Jr., Rodriguez led the AL in home runs with 18. "I think his bat's corked this year," Jeter said, laughing.

Garciaparra? Last year's AL rookie of the year had already compiled 44 hits, including five doubles, four triples and five homers, in 147 at-bats before going on the disabled list May 13 with a separated shoulder. That injury will deprive the Red Sox of the player who had driven in 27 runs in 33 games when the American League's second-winningest team takes on the Yankees this weekend.

Such numbers underscore just how far the evolution following the Ripken offensive revolution has gone. "In the past, it was a defensive position," said Jeter. "That's all you had to do. Now, if you want to be considered one of the top shortstops, or compete with the other shortstops out there, you have to hit."

Yet the Yankees' leading hitter doesn't forget completely the reason the position exists. "I still think defense comes first," said Jeter. "When you're playing the middle infield, you're very important to your team and the success of your team is defense. That's the only way you can win is to play good defense."