When the New York Yankees take the field at the start of the 2015 season, they'll be doing so without one of the team's fixtures and all-time greats. Entering his 20th and final season in Yankees pinstripes, shortstop Derek Jeter announced earlier this week that he'll be hanging up his cleats and retiring at the conclusion of the 2014 season. The franchise's all-time hits leader who turns 40 years old in June, broke onto the big league scene in 1995 as an injury replacement at shortstop, a position he would soon takeover and never look back while creating quite the name for himself and setting the standard for many of today's young players. Having achieved just about every highlight and award possible to go along with his five World Series rings as well as date a laundry list of some of Hollywood's hottest babes, there's very few things the one better known as "the Captain" has yet to accomplish throughout his Major League career that is nothing short of first-ballot Hall of Fame worthy.
When he wasn't making dazzling, acrobatic plays with his glove such as his signature "jump-throw", he was diving and crashing into the stands. And when he wasn't doing that, he was getting it done at the plate, driving in runs while earning such nicknames as "Mr. November" and "Captain Clutch". Whatever it was that he did, he gave it his all. But it wasn't until 2012 that we were all reminded that Derek Jeter is in fact human. Though the world didn't come to an end in 2012 like many predicted, the next closest thing happened in Yankee land when Jeter fractured his left ankle while reaching for a ground ball in the American League Championship Series versus the Detroit Tigers. Jeter's absence would be a devastating blow to the Yankees lineup as Detroit went on to sweep the series and advance to the Fall Classic. The injury to Jeter's ankle along with a handful of other ailments would plague his 2013 campaign, forcing him to miss all but 17 games last season. Prior to 2013, no other season saw Jeter play fewer than 119 games aside from the year he was called up to the Majors some 19 seasons ago. So if it seems like it's been forever since someone not named Jeter routinely roamed between second and third base, it's because it has been. At least it has for me.
Since I can remember watching baseball as a child, the Yankees were always the glitz and glamour of the Major Leagues, almost always had some of the best players and without a doubt had the nicest uniforms. It's hard to think back and see a Yankee team without Jeter as the everyday shortstop mainly because I was five years old at the time he was called up. And while I've never been a fan of the Yankees and would much rather root against them, Jeter is one of the few that has donned the pinstripes that I can honestly say I've always liked. With baseball's Spring Training in full swing, the Bronx Bombers are less than a month away from kicking off the season without another mainstay in closer Mariano Rivera who took his farewell tour just a season ago and received gifts from every ball club along his journey before calling it quits after 19 years in the Big Apple. Though he wasn't healthy enough to be on the field to witness most of it, hopefully Jeter took notes as he will take a similar approach while making his rounds across the country to other visiting ballparks around the league and receive gifts while doing so on his way out.
It's hard to believe that next year will be the first season in which neither Mariano River nor Derek Jeter's names will be called during player introductions. No 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica will be playing from the stadium speakers to introduce the "Sandman" himself who ran out of the bullpen gates to compile a record 652 career saves, the most all-time. And the famous recording of long-time Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard introducing Jeter as, "Number two" will no longer be heard. Highly regarded as a consummate professional among those he's worked for and played alongside of, Jeter is the type of guy you'd want your kids to grow up idolizing. At least that would be the case if I had kids. Jeter, a 13-time All-Star, wore the pinstripes the way they were meant to be worn -- with class. And though 2014 will see Jeter take his farewell tour, I like to think of it as a victory lap rather before he embarks on his next journey -- Cooperstown.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
What had the makings to be one of the best Super Bowl's in recent years, turned ugly early, falling short of the hype and would be nothing short of a disappointment when the game clock hit double zero. The number one offense taking on the number one defense was just a few ingredients that we thought would eventually concoct a game for the ages, instead the halftime show headlined by Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers provided more entertainment than the game itself. Little did we know the league's highest-scoring offense that set numerous records led by quarterback Peyton Manning would be dismantled by the league's best defense which put up points on the board just 12 second in and never looked back.
Entering Sunday's game, all the talk was surrounding the legacy of Peyton Manning who one day earlier set an NFL record by winning his fifth MVP Award after his record-breaking season in which he threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. With rumors swirling of this possibly being Peyton's final game, virtually everyone envisioned Manning to ride off into the sunset while hoisting his second career Lombardi Trophy and silencing the critics that have discredited Manning over the years for his lone Super Bowl title. Apparently, Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks didn't get that memo as their defense made Peyton Manning look rather pedestrian on the NFL's biggest stage. With Seattle winning the coin-toss and electing to defer, Denver would start the game off in the worst possible way as the ball sailed over Manning's head and into the end zone on the first play from scrimmage for a safety. The early miscue would be a bad omen of things to come for Denver who found themselves down 2-0 after one play despite Seattle's offense yet to touch the field.
The Seahawks who had zero Super Bowl experience on their entire roster entering the game, simply didn't need it. However, it would be Manning and the Broncos who showed up as if it was their first rodeo. From the first play on, Seattle played like a team possessed where as Denver appeared to have just crawled out of bed, resembling a marching band without their conductor who in this case was Peyton Manning, unsure of what to do or where to go when it came time for battle. By halftime, Seattle had already built a 22-0 lead, scoring on each of their first three offensive possessions (field goal, field goal, touchdown) to go along with a 69-yard interception taken to the house by the eventual Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith. Meanwhile, the Broncos offense which hadn't been shutout in the first half all season long would pick a terrible time to be held to their first goose egg.
Percy Harvin who was brought in during the offseason with high expectations to aid Seattle's aerial attack and special-teams before missing all but two games for the Seahawks this season due to an injury, brought a dimension on offense that Seattle has been unable to show off virtually all year long. But on Sunday Seattle was able to let loose a healthy Harvin who caught the Broncos defense sleeping with a 30-yard run on the Seahawks first possession. He would later put an end to any sort of momentum swing Denver was hoping to open the second half with when he ran back the opening kick 87-yard to begin the third quarter. At that point you knew the Broncos had no chance of pulling off the miraculous comeback as the deficit only grew.
Coming into the game, if anything was supposed to deprive Manning of his second Super Bowl title in three tries, it was the elements which were first thought to be a factor and one that would favor the defense. Instead, the weather ended up not being as big a factor as everyone initially thought as it turned out to be a very cooperative 49 degrees at kickoff, making it the third coldest game in Super Bowl history. But in the end it wouldn't matter as Seattle's suffocating defense proved to be too much for Peyton and company who's only points in the game came on the final play of the third quarter when Manning connected with Demariyus Thomas in the end zone followed by a successful two-point conversion. By then it would be too late as the Broncos dug a hole too big for even the league's best offense to climb out of as Seattle practically eliminated Knoshawn Moreno (17 yards on 5 rushes) and Denver's run game and held them in check when attempting cross routes, both of which are integral components when Denver's offense is at its best.
Seattle was able to put up points on both sides of the ball without running back Marshawn Lynch being much of a factor, something many including myself thought wouldn't be possible without their workhorse having a big day on the ground. Lynch finished the game with fewer rushing yards than Harvin, tallying just 39 yards on 15 carries to go along with his 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Seattle QB Russell Wilson was another name that didn't put up eye-popping numbers but did what he needed to in order for his team to come out victorious at the end of the day as he completed 18 of 25 pass attempts for 206 yards and a pair of second half touchdowns to receivers Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin as the Seattle Seahawks trampled the Denver Broncos, 43-8 in route to their first ever Super Bowl title. With the win, Russell Wilson becomes just the fourth second-year QB to win a Super Bowl, reminding us that a conservative, game manager type of quarterback can win a Super Bowl when backed by a stellar defense.
While Manning who was under constant duress did set a Super Bowl record by completing 34 of 49 pass attempts while throwing for 280 yards, it was the two interceptions in the game he'll most be remembered for as Seattle won the turnover battle: 4-0 after recovering a pair of forced fumbles. Though statistically Manning had the greatest season every by a QB, I think it's safe to say he would have much rather traded in those records for a second Lombardi Trophy as he fails to become the first QB in NFL history to win a Super Bowl title with two different franchises. With the loss, the Denver Broncos have fallen in a record five of seven Super Bowl's. Meanwhile, Manning falls to 11-12 in the postseason, the most losses in postseason history. And while he ranks in the top 3 greatest regular season QB's, he's no Joe Montana when it comes to the biggest game on the biggest stage. Assuming he's healthy, unless he can rally the Broncos to another Super Bowl title in these next three years of his contract, in spite of having a much easier road back to the big game than Seattle who will first have to get through their difficult division, Manning just might go down as the greatest quarterback to ever be held to just one Super Bowl win.
But enough about Manning, it's time to give credit to Seattle's stout defense which has drawn comparisons to the '85 Chicago Bears and held Denver's high-powered offense to just 8-points, the team's fewest since Manning joined the team in 2012. The 2013 Seahawks are proof that defense wins championships, as all eight of the highest-scoring offenses in NFL history have now all came short of winning the Super Bowl. Seattle, the fourth youngest team to win a Super Bowl, also pulled off the third largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history (35 points) in what was a total team effort that took the work and dedication of each and every player on the squad.
Coming into the game, the Denver Broncos were the odds on favorite in what many expected to be a close game at best for Seattle with the Broncos likely to run away with it. Those that did think there would be a lopsided affair thought only Denver was capable of pulling off the blowout. Not even those that did have Seattle winning envisioned a beat down of this magnitude which once again just goes to show how much we know about the grand game of Football.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
