The Final Season

Approaching his 40th birthday and 19th year as the Yankees everyday shortstop, Derek Jeter announced today that 2014 will his final season. Revealing his plan via Facebook, Jeter offered a Thank You note to fans. The Yankee captain has lived his boyhood dream -- playing shortstop in the Bronx, as the heart-and-soul of five World Series winners -- and now prepares for the next chapter of his already charmed life. His place in Yankee history is already assured: no one will ever wear #2 after him. And in 2020 -- notice how that year is dominated by two's -- he'll be voted into Cooperstown.

Being a fan since the slugging '61 Yankees, the Bronx Bombers were always built around the sluggers -- Mantle and Maris when I was a kid, later Reggie and Nettles. There were always great starting pitchers, especially the lefties -- Whitey Ford, then Ron Guidry -- and clutch relievers, Luis Arroyo, Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage and, of course, in the current run, the incomparable Mariano Rivera.

Jeter was different, the Yankees never had a shortstop with his many gifts, fueled by a special level of focus and determination. Clearly, that's what led George Steinbrenner to name him Captain.

2014 promises to be a special Yankee season with a revitalized roster and hopefully for Jeter, who missed all but 17 games a year ago, good health and a vital role in a contending team.

Comments

Staton Rabin said…
Well said, and this is a fitting reminder of how rare it is for any shortstop to do everything well-- and that Derek Jeter can never truly be "replaced". It's great to see the image of the Captain here, to be preserved forever in memory. Always a Yankee. Forever young. And, thank goodness, we have one more season to talk about his career in the present tense.
February 20, 2014 at 3:02 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Avenue and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two...
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore...
Read more

Spring Training Flashbacks: Subway Series, Florida Style - 2016

Image
It's a return visit to the Mets' Florida home in Port St. Lucie, this time for a 2016 showdown with the Yankees. (Below), Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman chat during batting practice. Aaron Judge and Rob Refsnyder have their game faces on in the dugout... though neither would be in the starting lineup. (Above) A couple of Brooklyn natives that made their mark in New York baseball -- Lee Mazzilli and John Franco. (Below) Mets pitcher Josh Smoker makes friends by signing a few autographs. (Above) Mets reliever Jeurys Familia; (Below) 2nd baseman Neil Walker (Above) Curtis Granderson, one of the select few players to star for both the Yankees and Mets, getting ready for his third summer at Citi Field. (Below) Aaron Hicks came to the Yankees in a trade the previous November. 3rd baseman Chase Headley enjoying the Grapefruit League vibe, even against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. (Above) Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes watches where he hit one... so does Joe Girardi from the visitor's dugou...
Read more