Class. Clutch. Captain. For this generation, Derek Sanderson Jeter is Yankees baseball. Jeter is everything that is right about the game and carries himself the right way, both on and off the field. He is the Batman of Gotham, out in the night but never quite fully unmasked and yet whenever signaled, always came through to save the day. For most of 20 seasons, he has been in the right place at the right time, because, of course he is. That is until 22 games (and perhaps a faint playoff hope) from now, when he won’t be any longer.
It is almost unthinkable, even though with all athletes, retirement is an inevitable certainty. Still though for people of my age, this also ends one more connection to our “baseball childhood” if you will. Not that I feel old by any means but I’ve been watching Derek Jeter play shortstop since 1994, when he supplanted Kevin Elster and played Double-A ball for my old hometown Albany-Colonie Yankees at Heritage Park. That was back when Jeter wore number 27, the number of titles he’d help the Yankees franchise reach, batted .377 and never looked back.
Still though as sad as that impending reality may be, today at Yankee Stadium is about celebrating and appreciating Derek Jeter. I say this because yes we still do have him and because you may never see another one like him. I also say this because I can remember the Yankees with Tony Fernandez, Mike Gallego, Randy Velarde, Spike Owen and Andy Stankiewicz at short, all had fine, serviceable major-league careers but none of them like Jeter.
Through the years, one common thread of commentary regarding Jeter is that one has to watch him every day to truly appreciate what he does and what he means to the Yankees. This is true, Jeter does have all of the intangibles and the “it factor” you’d want in a player but it’s also somewhat of a disservice to him to leave it there.
Jeter could hustle off the field like The Mick and on the field like Joe D. He was clutch like Reggie in October and even in November. Plus he took the torch from Donnie Baseball and ran with it.
What I’ll miss the most about Derek Jeter is how he embraced and thrived in the big moment. Seeing as how he is that last link to those 90’s teams, you realize just how few of those types of players are around and how infrequently they come around.
Whenever the Yankees needed a jump throw from the hole, Jeter was there. A shovel flip to Jorge Posada or a flip or dive into the stands, Jeter flashed his smarts and sacrifice. A catch over the shoulder on a 38 degree Opening Day in Cleveland in 1996, sure, because Jeter was equally as cool as they come. For a player who wasn’t a slugger, so many of his home runs were big time for the Yankees, including that opener off Dennis Martinez in ’96, the Jeffery Maier aided home run in the ALCS of the same year, the dagger shots against Bobby Jones and Al Leiter in the 2000 Subway Series World Series, which eventually earned him MVP honors, his walkoff shot in Game 4 of the 2001 Fall Classic off Byung-hyun Kim, that forever designated him as Mr. November, plus hit number 3,000, when he took David Price deep on a five-hit day in 2011.
Some will say that Jeter had the advantage of playing for a perennial playoff team like the Yankees but let’s get real folks, his regular season numbers measure up with anyone in the sport and yes he played in the playoffs a lot and he excelled immensely. Besides, isn’t that what it’s all about? Preforming at the highest level on the grandest stage in the game?
Sunday will mark yet another big day on the big stage, in the big ballpark in the Bronx. Jeter will still be in the right place, at the right time. Which is good, with 22 games to go, the Yankees still need him.
