Fansided

Derek Jeter’s final week, career prospective

By Ethan Finkelstein

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As we look ahead towards the end of the 2014 Major League Baseball season, there are several things that fans can say they were not necessarily expecting. The emergence of Jacob deGrom, or the Seattle Mariners contending for a postseason spot this late into the year. Then there are some things we knew from the very beginning. The Yankees are too old to contend. Clayton Kershaw is the scariest pitcher in the league since a guy by the name of Pedro Martinez was tolling the hill in Fenway. Mike Trout will continue to evolve, and the Cardinals are going to once again find a way to make the playoffs.

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But there seems to be one matter than has loomed over the sport since play begin this Spring. A generation defining player, a face we are all too familiar with, and a genuine hero of the game will be leaving us. And so we have come to this. Derek Jeter’s final week of regular season play. Given the Yankees current standing in the wild card race, it would also appear to be his final week in pinstripes, period. All season, New York has traveled from stadium to stadium across the country, with their captain receiving critical praise amid standing ovations throughout. There have been commercials, all star game ceremonies, and tremendous amounts of fanfare circled squarely around his swan song.

For many, Derek Jeter represents something pure about the game. He is a throwback. The man plays with the desire to win only paralleled by Pete Rose. A flare for the dramatic that so few have embodied in the history of baseball, like fellow Yankees Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth. Did he have the same power? Of course not. But his consistency at the plate, coupled by his elevated efforts on both sides of the ball in the postseasons speak wonders to his legacy alone. Those who have played with the guy, from Bernie Williams to Robinson Cano, know just what kind of teammate he is. Forget all the stats. As of this moment, you should not be looking at the 3,459 hits, the 1,921 runs scored, or the .310 career batting average. We will not focus on the numerous gold gloves, the World Series rings, the all star game appearances, or the MVP votes accrued by no. 2. Instead, I would like to focus on the way in which he played this game.

The childlike exuberance from this 2001 World Series shot.

The pure baseball instinct to run across the field and make one of the all time great improvisational plays in baseball history.

The determination to win at all costs.

Then, of course we reach the milestones. Who could forget this bright sunny day in the Bronx? Jeter goes 5-5 and sends a David Price offering into the stands for his 3,000th hit, becoming just the first Yankee to ever do so, and only the second player to ever accomplish the feat on a home run, after Wade Boggs in 1999.

But again, it is not about the milestones themselves with Jeter. Any run of the mill future hall of famer can have that. His career speaks to us in moments. And although it is very difficult to select a signature play, there is no shame in resorting to a nice assortment of YouTube clips to pay tribute to a true baseball icon. Zero controversy, an award winning persona, perennial high caliber statistics, multiple championships, and nearly universal respect; yes, even from Red Sox fans. He may not have ever won a batting title, or an MVP award, but Derek Jeter sustained a level of on field and off field excellence for a long period of time. Very few people can attest to that.

If we had to select a “Mount Rushmore” of sports icons from the last 20 years, is there really any doubt who would be on there? Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Derek Jeter. At any one given moment, those 4 players completely transcended their sport. And not since the days of Babe Ruth, have we really had a player garner that much mainstream attention in baseball. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa might be able to attest for one season, as could Mantle and Roger Maris, however, none of them maintained lasting transcendence like Jeter. The game of baseball owes a lot to many players. But I am confident that a majority of young players, even burgeoning talents in the minors today will cite no. 2 as their primary inspiration for getting into the sport. At the end of the day, that should be Jeter’s biggest legacy. More so than any other player in recent memory, he helped grow this game. And for that, he will truly be missed.

 

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