Derek Jeter’s final countdown begins in the Bronx, as does the end of Yanks legends era
In the words of the great Frank Sinatra, “start spreading the news.”
While the New York Yankees are on course to miss the playoffs for the first time in consecutive seasons since 1993-94, fans have one last shot to pay tribute to, let alone watch one of the last true Yankee greats we will see for a long time.
Shortstop Derek Jeter homered in the first game of his final nine-game home stand Thursday night in the Yanks 3-2 win over the Blue Jays. Jeter drilled a 3-1 fastball over the left field wall from Jays’ pitcher R.A. Dickey to put the Yanks up 2-0 in the sixth. It was Jeter’s first home run in the Bronx since July 13, 2013 and his first homer in 158-at-bats since Aug. 1.
“Obviously, this year, up until this point, hasn’t turned out how I’d like it to,” Jeter said after the game. “But you’ve got to keep fighting and keep battling, and regardless of how you’ve done, you come to the field and you have a chance to help the team win.”
To further emphasize how the season “hasn’t turned out how [Jeter would] like it to,” Brian McCann grounded out on the following at-bat, negating the fans’ bid for a Jeter curtain call.
“I’m trying not to think about it being the last home stand,” Jeter added. “We still have a week left. We’re trying to win games and I’m going to go out there and play hard like I’ve always done my entire career until we’re out of games.”
The Yankees pulled within five games of the struggling Oakland Athletics for the second AL wild-card spot with 10-games left and although it seems unlikely that both teams will switch spots when the regular season ends on Sept. 28, Yankee fans are still hoping for one last October with The Captain. Remember, anything (and I mean anything) can happen in October.
But outside of this weekend and week-ahead marking the end of an era in the Bronx, with the Yankees and all of baseball and sports, one thing has to be mentioned: there will never be another like Jeter – period.
In 16 of his 18 years at the MLB level, he led the Yankees to the playoffs, won five World Series (1996, 98-2000, 2009), let alone brought the Yankees back from the dead after the team missed the playoffs for 14 years prior to their ALDS appearance in 1995.
Outside of the numerous accolades, outside of the .309/.377/.439 career slash line, outside of the 260 home runs and the 1,302 RBI, Jeter is more than just another one of the game’s greatest shortstops, he’s one of the most consistent.
In fact, it’s that theme, consistency that perfectly describes his career. In a time where fans became enamored with the long ball, Jeter kept the same inside-out swing that got him over 3,400 hits in his career and in a time where big-time hitters were taking steroids and performance enhancers to be able to hit more homers, Jeter just kept his course.
He survived the steroid era, he’s one of the game’s last players to spend their entire career with just one team and he’s managed to thrive in this new social media era, keeping his private life… private.
Again, consistent.
And it’s that first-class consistency that has been appreciated by sports fans, let alone average New Yorkers alike throughout the last two decades.
Gatorade’s tribute to The Captain that launched Thursday before Jeter hit his homer against Toronto perfectly depicts what Jeter has meant to New York, while the Jordan ad that came out over the summer shows what he’s meant to sports nationwide.
He’s the last one-of-a-kind, classy baseball player we may see in our lifetime.
Jeter’s always been one for the dramatics. Whether it’s getting a game-winning or game-tying home run in the postseason, or drilling his 3000th career hit over the wall at left-center, or coming off what would’ve been a devastating (and at his age career-ending) ankle injury, playing in 136 games (as of Sept. 19, 2014) hitting .250 with four homers and 41 RBI with nine steals.
If Jeter’s home run Thursday was a sign of anything related to a Yankee postseason run, then expect the Yankees to follow their Captain to the very end.
Because there won’t be another like Jeter.
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