If you listen close you can hear the whispers. Listen. Do you hear that? They’re faint and you might miss them under the heartfelt cheers and well wishes showering Derek Jeter each time he steps foot on the field. Spring Training crowds at “The Boss” and around the Grapefruit League are taking every chance they can to catch The Captain one last time…but as the old saying goes, “Your fans are in the streets and your critics are in the weeds.” And there are some already reading Jeter his last rights…softly.
It is true that this spring has been an ugly one offensively for the Yankees’ 40 yr old shortstop. He really has to rebuild it all from the ground up. Once the ankle mended and he was able to get his legs under him again, Derek needed to play catch up after basically missing an entire season. This would be a tough task for a 26-year-old coming into his prime, and unfortunately for Jeter and the Yankee faithful…Jeet is the Big 4 0 in June. Did you hear that? The whispers were joined by snickers…probably folks from Boston. Figures.
Joe Girardi and others in the New York ranks have deflected any and all “Are you concerned about Jeter” questions. They may be doing it out of respect, but I think they know that there are just some guys you NEVER bet against. Derek Jeter is one of those players.
I grew up emulating San Francisco 49ers’ legend Joe Montana…which caused me some abuse living in the Tri-State area. My Dad has always been my coach, and at an early age he told me to model my game after Joe. He wasn’t the biggest. He wasn’t overwhelmingly fast and didn’t have an arm like Marino or Elway…but Joe knew how to win. He took the frame and physical attributes he was born with and made the most out of them.
He was also a Patton-like field general. He instilled confidence in his teammates and made the entire unit better just taking the field. In my opinion he was the best ever to play the position. It’s up for debate I know, but what is not is the FACT that you could NEVER count Montana out. Even when the Niners pushed him off to Kansas City Joe still showed them and Steve Young that he was still the man and that 8 was only half of 16.
There have been others cut from this same cloth. They never let up. Even in the face of Father Time these players always come through in the end. I don’t care if you are in the sad, delusional sect that calls Jeter overrated or chose not to like him outright. I don’t care if you are an absolute Hall of Fame naysayer and clown like Skip Bayless. You can’t take it away from Mr. Jeter. He is special. A once in a lifetime type winner and this season he WILL show up. Bank on it.
As the Yankees get ready to break camp, Derek Jeter’s last, you can almost hear a powerful John Williams movie soundtrack starting to build. It haunts you like the lone French horn in the intro to “Superman”.
The season will be memorable for sure, but I think it will be more than that. On the day he captured his 3,000th hit (a dinger by the way) he also went 5 for 5. He mentioned that he couldn’t have scripted that way. But think about it, could it have been any other way for “#2 From Kalamazoo”?
Jeter, like Montana, isn’t the strongest. His entire career he’s heard that there were better shortstops all around him (Miggy Tejada in Oakland, “No Mah” in Boston and that suspended guy that played next to him at 3rd). But ask yourself, would they have been there to flip the ball to Jorgie in time to tag Jeremy Giambi? Would they have thrown themselves into the stands for a pop fly against the Sox? Would they have sent a rocket over the right field wall as the clock struck November in 2001. I can’t say for sure, they were all great players, but I’m leaning towards a big ol' NOPE.
What will Jeter’s numbers be at the end of the 2014 season? I couldn’t say. Will he go out hitting over .300 with a Gold Glove and World Series Title? Well, it’s Derek Jeter, it might seem impossible to those whispering in the weeds, but for those of us cheering him in the streets, we just won’t bet against it.
--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."
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