Derek Jeter has done something that no other Yankee player has ever achieved. He has done something that only one other player has done. July 9th, 2011, will always be remembered when Derek Jeter got hit number 3,000. Also, his 3,000th hit found its way over the left field fence, becoming the second player in MLB history to hit a home-run on his 3,000th hit. (Wade Boggs was the other.) Derek Jeter arguably is one of the best among the elite to ever wear the famous pin stripes. When mentioning Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, and Joe DiMaggio, you now have to include Derek Jeter among this historic list of Yankee greats. Ruth might have hit 714 career home runs, Gehrig is arguably the best first baseman to ever play, Mantle won three MVP's and the triple crown in 1956, and DiMaggio was one of the best hitters in MLB history and his 56-game hitting streak is a prime example. However, none of those Yankee greats did what Derek Jeter accomplished on July 9th, 2011: joining the 3,000th hit club. Jeter became the 28th member of the 3,000 hit club after hitting a home run against two-time All-star David Price. Derek Jeter is now in the same group as former greats such as Pete Rose, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Tris Speaker, Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken Jr., George Brett, Robin Yount, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Al Kaline, and Roberto Clemente just to name a few. Yet, there is one significant difference between Derek Jeter and all of the other former greats: Derek Jeter did it during the steroid era. On some nights of course the match-up against opposing pitcher did not pose a disadvantage, but on some nights there would be pitcher's on the hill that were on the juice, and provided a significant advantage while on the mound.
Derek Jeter is arguably the best player our generation has ever seen, yet a lot of people might disagree. Chicks dig the long ball, and so does everybody else. So the easy pick that most fans go with as the best player our generation has seen is a player like Albert Pujols or Barry Bonds. However, there is one thing that Derek Jeter has on the rest of the field: championships. Derek Jeter is the second player in MLB history to achieve 3,000 hits and play in at least five World Series. (Eddie Collins was the other.) There is one thing that Jeter has on everybody else and that is leadership. Whenever the Yankees needed a clutch play in the post-season, Derek Jeter has always been the guy to make that play. The Yankees were on a dry spell when it came to winning championships until Jeter got called up in 1996. New York had not won a World Series since 1978, but this changed once Jeter put on the pinstripes. Jeter won Rookie of the Year in 1996, but played even better during the 1996 post-season, finishing the playoffs with a .361 batting average. Jeter has continuously done this in his career and has come up with huge plays in clutch situations in the playoffs. In 1998, Jeter was in the zone against the San Diego Padres and finished the series with a .353 batting average in route of a four-game sweep and more importantly, his second World Series ring. The following year was the best year that Jeter ever had.
In 1999, Derek Jeter somehow finished sixth in the American League MVP voting after finishing the year with a .349 average, 24 home-runs, 102 RBI, 37 doubles, 9 triples, .438 OBP, .552 SLG %, and 134 runs scored. Derek Jeter could care less about the AL MVP, because he only had one thing on his mind: his third World Series ring. In the Division Series against the Texas Rangers and against the 1999 AL MVP, Ivan Rodriguez, Derek Jeter went 5-11 batting .455, and more importantly, a three-game sweep of the Rangers. Ivan Rodriguez went 3-12 in the series with no RBI and the Texas Rangers only scored one run in the three-game sweep. In the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, Derek Jeter's hot bat continued as he finished the series batting .350, 1 home-run, 3 RBI, and .409 OBP. In the World Series against the Atlanta Braves, Jeter was still raking, and he finished the World Series batting .353. Derek Jeter changed the mindset of the New York Yankees franchise, because people tend to forget that they had a 18-year drought from winning a World Series ring. Since Jeter's rookie year in 1996, they racked up three more World Series Championships in his first four years in the majors. In 2000, the Yankees were going for the three-peat, and once again, Derek Jeter would be the guy to lead the way. The Yankees beat the A's in the ALDS and the Mariners in the ALCS, Jeter finished the first two rounds with a .268 average, 1 home-run, and 7 RBI. Jeter saved his best for the World Series, as the Yankees met up with the New York Mets. He went 9-22, batting .409, 2 home-runs, 2 RBI, 1 triple, 2 doubles, and an amazing .864 SLG %. Derek Jeter became the first player in Major League history to win the All-star game MVP and the World Series MVP in the same year. This was the first time since 1953 that the New York Yankees have won at least three straight World Series, and it was the third time in New York's rich history that they had a three-peat. (The two other times were 1936-1939 and 1949-1953.)
2001 is a year we will never forget, and the great past time was a great way for people to get their minds off of what happened on September 11th, 2001. This is still a very tough day to remember as I remember being a Freshman in high-school and just in shock as I was getting ready to go to school. I could not believe what I saw on television. All I could think about was what happened and I could not get my mind off of it, and yet when baseball was on, it was a way to get my mind off of that tragic day. Especially, people that lived in New York and whether or not you were a Yankee fan, or even a baseball fan, a lot of people found the great past time as a way to take a break off of what happened on September 11th. Once again, Derek Jeter showed his leadership skills as he did everything possible for the community, along with many of his Yankee teammates and manager Joe Torre, to lend a hand in helping out the community of New York. The city and people of New York was first and baseball was second to them. Yet, I think it very well could have been the opposite for the people of New York and baseball became a first priority to them to have some type of positivity, as we were all trying to get over what happened on September 11th, 2001. For once, a lot of people were rooting for the New York Yankees to win for the city of New York. A team that had been hated by so many, quickly became a team that a lot of people were rooting for during the 2001 season. With the New York Yankees down two games to none in the ALDS against the Oakland A's, Derek Jeter made the best play of his career, and it was not with his bat. With the A's up in the bottom of the seventh down 1-0, Jeremy Giambi was on first base with two outs, and Terrance Long lined a double down the right field line. Shane Spencer got to the ball in the corner and relayed it back to the infield and missed both cut off men with his throw, and Derek Jeter was probably the only player in baseball that would make this historic play. Jeter standing close to second base realized the throw was way over the heads of both Chuck Knoblauch and Tino Martinez and sprinted towards the first base line and scooped up the throw off of a hop, right between home-plate and first base, flipped it Jorge Posada, and Posada tagged out Giambi just in the nick of time. The Yankees never looked back and won the next three games against the A's and moved onto the ALCS. (The Yankees became the first team in ALDS history to drop the first two games at home and win the series.) The Yankees rode that momentum into the ALCS and beat the Seattle Mariners in five-games knocking off the team that won 116 games during the regular season in ease. The Yankees won the AL pennant for the fourth straight year and were trying to capture their fourth straight World Series. The Yankees lost in a heroic seven game series to the Arizona Diamondbacks, which very well could be the best World Series ever played. Despite losing, Derek Jeter became Mr. November in this series when he hit a walk-off home run in game four at 12:01 AM on November 1st. However, Jeter struggled in the series batting .118 and went 4-27. Yet, it was no easy task as he was going against Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson in four of those seven games, two of the best pitchers we have ever seen. Despite losing the World Series, the 2001 New York Yankees were winners in a lot of peoples eyes because they put the city of New York on their back after the 9/11 tragedy, helped get people's minds off of this historic tragedy, and give something people to get attached to and allow something positive to cheer for.
There is one athlete that comes to mind to me when comparing Derek Jeter: Michael Jordan. Jeter has five World Series rings to his name and has the leadership qualities that Jordan had. Like Jordan did, Derek Jeter put a city and a team on his back and got his team to the very top. Jordan was one of the best scorers and defenders in the game, and Jeter is one of the best hitters and defensive shortstops we have ever seen. His five gold gloves and his career .313 batting average is historic. Jeter became the fourth youngest at 34 years old to get his 3,000th hit. He became the third shortstop in MLB history to get to the 3,000 hit plateau and did it in 1,500 less at bats. (Robin Yount and Cal Ripken Jr. are the other two shortstops.) Jeter has scored more runs than any shortstop that is currently in the Hall of Fame. His 231 career home runs are currently third most among shortstops trailing Cal Ripken Jr. and Robin Yount. He ranks fifth all-time in doubles and RBI among shortstops and is sixth among shortstops in stolen bases. The one thing he has among the best shortstops baseball fans have ever seen, is his five World Series championships. Derek Jeter very well could go down as the best shortstop we have ever seen and joining the 3,000 hit club only cements his legacy. Jeter is a 12-time All-star, five-time World Series champion, five-time gold glove winner, four-time silver slugger award winner, All-star MVP, one-time World Series MVP, Rookie of the Year, and has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting seven times. (Top three in MVP voting three times.) Derek Jeter might not be the best Yankee to ever play, the best player of this generation, but you could definitely make an argument that he is. There is one stat that does not show up on the stat sheet and that is being a leader and that says a lot playing for the New York Yankees. In my eyes, Derek Jeter is the best player our generation has ever seen, and the best shortstop in MLB history.
No comments:
Post a Comment