Day 266

Fresh Start_266: The legend of Derek Jeter
Growing up in New York, close to New York City and being a sports fan, in specific a Yankee fan, I got the fortune to watch one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. In fact, one of the greatest Yankees to ever play in a Yankee uniform, and well you just imagine what that says about Derek Jeter. Put aside the 3,465 hits, a career .310 batting average, 5 World Series rings, and being the captain of the most prestige organization in all of sports.

When Jeter announced his retirement, it took me back and it was like hearing a friend that you grew up with is moving to another country and you won’t see him again. The question arose “What will life be like without Derek Jeter?” Yankee fans had to go through this the year before with Marino Rivera and his whole walk-off tour. Mo was my co-favorite player for my entire fandom of the Yankees. Seeing both retire and move on, is just saddening but it is the end of an era. It truly is the end of the “Core Four” and the run of the 5 World Series Championships.

It is now 2017, and Derek Jeter is now 3 years retired, the founder of the Players Tribune, a part of the top bid to by the Miami Marlins, and a soon to be father—with the Yankees playing the best baseball that they have since Jeter retired in 2014. Watching Jeter play is like drinking the best well water in the world, than having the well dry up after 20 years of drinking that water. No water will compare to the water that you’ve been drinking for the past 20 years, even if the water is really good. That comparison is exactly what the Yankees did when they traded for Didi Gregorius after Jeter retired. Even if Didi was the best shortstop in the entire league when he took over, he would not replace the legend that was Derek Jeter. The icon and myth of Derek Jeter is something that can’t be described and doesn’t need to be. If a 5-year-old Yankee fan typed “Derek Jeter highlights” into google he would see the dive into the stands against the Red Sox, the “Mr. November” homer against the Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series, his 3,000th hit, and of course “The Flip” play. But, these kids didn’t live through his career, and witness the greatness of Derek Jeter. I wrote a short explanation of what Jeter meant to me on my Instagram hours before his final home game in Yankee Stadium and it read “Thank You Derek for helping raise me as a Yankees fan. I wouldn’t change watching you on TV or in the stands every day. I’m going to miss you at short.”

While that is short it still embodies to an extent of what Derek Jeter was to the Bronx, New York City as a whole, and the Yankee family for 20 years. The image of the high-class citizen that Jeter was in New York for 20 years. Jeter escaped the media capital of the world without a blemish to his character or allow anything off the field effect his performance and dedication on the field.

So, with his jersey being put in Monument Park being immortalized in Yankee history. With the unveiling of the #2 in Monument Park last night, the end of the era is upon us, and we won’t be seeing much of Derek Jeter. Jeter didn’t stick around for the 3 years from his retirement until his jersey retirement. He came back for the big moments, but didn’t want to stay around the game. It was hinted at by Michael Kay during Jeter’s farewell tour in 2014. And honestly, as a Yankee fan, it softened the blow of Jeter retiring and moving on to a life beyond baseball. Seeing the games where Jeter ran into the stands in the old Yankee Stadium, ran from short to the end of the first baseline for “The Flip Play,” or any of the World Series Champion teams is a blast from the past and good to reminisce about old times. So maybe for a final time:

Thank you, Derek, for playing the game the way you did. Thank you for inspiring young baseball fans like myself to go out and play the game the way you. emulating you in our backyards or even just in school. Thank you for being the greatest competitor and striving for a championship each and every year. I am spoiled for drinking that water for my entire life up until you’re retirement, and I will see you next in Cooperstown.
Sources:(baseballreference.com)

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