I’m left-handed. I’ve always taken pride in this somewhat rare trait, even thought of it as an advantage. Always, that is, with one exception.
My first ever baseball mitt was a tiny, dark brown and black glove. Believing in traditional American baseball gloves, my father had bought me a Rawlings (to this day, I will only use an American mitt). Inscribed on the palm was the signature of Derek Jeter.
I remember the day I went into the basement and told my dad I wanted to be a shortstop in Major League Baseball. Try as he might to explain to me why lefties never played short, I took that as a challenge, an opportunity to prove the grit and determination I saw in the man who’s glove I mimicked.
Yesterday, in his 2,745th game, Derek Jeter collected his 3,462nd and 3,463rd hits of his career. How he got there, though, was one of the most magical ball games I’ve ever watched.
To see Yankee stadium focusing completely on the player who made it about the Yankees for so many years brought tears to the eyes of baseball fans everywhere. To see him uncomfortable by the size of the stage was something that no one had ever seen before. And to see him hit an opposite field single to score the winning run in a high pressure moment was just the way it should have been.
When Steve Pearce hit his home run to tie the game last night, you didn’t see Yankees fans hang their heads at the blown save. You saw the spark of knowing that Jeter was coming up in the bottom half of the inning. You just knew, could feel it, that Jeter was going to do what it took to win. He always had.
The single that went into right field looked like it had eyes. Everyone could feel it, as soon as it left the bat. We didn’t need to see it go into right field, need to see the fielder make a throw to the plate, to see the ball skip up and evade the catcher. We knew, from the moment Pearce hit it out, that the baseball gods were setting the table for Derek. It was as if the whole thing was scripted. Except nobody writes better endings than Derek Jeter.
Throughout this season, stat junkies and analysts have attempted to explain why Jeter was or was not the greatest player in the history of the game, the history of the Yankees, or any other such title. Some came away saying he was a transcendent ball-player, with stats to prove it. Others (like Keith Olbermann) attempted to show why Derek may be getting more attention than he deserves.
I have two favorite stats to explain what Jeter meant to baseball. The numbers are 5 and 2. 5 is the number of championships Jeter was able to bring to his team. No other active player has more than 3 rings. The number 2? The number of “meaningless” games, games in which the Yankees have not been in a playoff race, that Jeter has ever played in. One of them was last night, although few would call that game meaningless.
The best way to quantify what Jeter means to the game of baseball is to classify him as a winner. He has, for 20 years, been the symbol for winning, for doing what it takes to get the victory. As he said last night, some have had more talent, but nobody has played the game harder than he has the past 20 years.
Derek Jeter is Mr. November. To me, though, he will always be Mr. Baseball. Jeter has stood for all that is beautiful about this game. He has been the greatest ambassador this came could have asked for, and he has made being a baseball fan a beautiful thing for the past 20 years.
Young fans look out onto the field looking for a hero. It isn’t necessarily right, but it is what it is. Nobody said that athletes should be role models. In fact, if the past several weeks have proven anything, they can be some of the ugliest characters in society. Yet, when you look out on the baseball diamond and see Derek Jeter manning the left side of the diamond, there is a player that I am proud to admire. The way he treats the game, treats the fans, and treats his teammates is a testament to how lucky baseball is to have him.
When the first pitch is thrown next season, baseball will continue to be the world’s greatest game. Yet, at the same time, every fan will know that the game is a little less special, because we will miss #2.
No comments:
Post a Comment