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New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter breaks 0-for-28 funk

By Phil Watson

Sep 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (2) is congratulated by third baseman Chase Headley (12) after he scored during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (2) is congratulated by third baseman Chase Headley (12) after he scored during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter—down to the final 10 days or so of his farewell tour—broke out of the second-longest hitless string of his career Wednesday night to snap an 0-for-28 funk.

Jeter singled to center off Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Alex Cobb in the sixth inning in St. Petersburg, Fla., Wednesday. He later scored on a sacrifice fly by Brett Gardner to give the Yanks a 3-1 lead in the game.

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The Yankees entered Wednesday with a 76-74 record and just a slim heartbeat in the playoff race, six games behind the Kansas City Royals for the second American League wild-card spot with three teams between them and the Royals.

Jeter went into Wednesday’s game hitting .249/.298/.297 in 134 games—the worst full-season marks of his 20-year career. He has three home runs and 40 RBI—but was voted into the All-Star Game in July as much for sentimentality as anything.

Jeter’s .595 OPS is 77th among 78 players currently qualified for the AL batting title, ahead of only Matt Dominguez of the Houston Astros (.593).

Jeter’s previous longest hitless spell was an 0-for-32 string in 2004. His previous low batting average was .270 in 2010.

The final month has been a grind for Jeter. He was hitting .111/.196/.133 in 13 September games entering Wednesday.

On the other hand, most of the folks criticizing Jeter couldn’t have hit .111 against big-league pitching at their physical peak, much less at age 40.

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