Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Captain's last Voyage

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. 


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