New York Yankees short stop Derek Jeter went to bed tonight most likely not thinking about his stagnant season, or his dwindling career or even which supermodel he should have taken to the hotel, but about four simple little hits.
Four hits that place him into a category no other Yankee has ever been in. Four hits away from the 3,000 hit club. I won't lie. I was shocked when I found out that no other Yankee has accomplished this feat. especially with how historic that franchise is with players like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, but I'm ecstatic that I'm around to see the first.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a Yankees fan, (Go Dodgers) but as a baseball fan it's always great to see someone accomplish something this grand. For a Hall of Fame player like Jeter, this will be just another notch on his belt to add to the myriad of accomplishments he already has.
Adding to the fact that he's the all-time hits leader for the Yankees, Jeter has 12 all-star appearences (2011 included), five Gold Golve Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, AL ROY, all-star game MVP, World Series MVP and the list goes on and on. Oh did I forget to mention he has five rings.
After all this I ask, why is everyone writing him off? Saying his career is over, that he should leave the game already, and that he's overpaid? Yes Jeter is in the midst of his worst season batting .257 with two home runs and 22 RBIs, but two words compensate for any struggles he has in the regular season. MR. NOVEMBER.
Jeter's ability to come up big in clutch situations seperates him from about 99% of the league and anyone that can get the big hits doesn't deserve the criticism Jeter is facing. If LeBron James was clutch, he'd have a ring by now, maybe he can buy one of Jeters, he does have four to spare. Do you think LeBron would hear all the ridicule he hears now if he could make a shot when he needs to.
Derek Jeter brings that to the organization. Sure, lately he's been going 0-4 or 1-5 in games this season, but he's got other all-star talent around him to get the team some wins. When it comes time for post-season baseball, who's the guy you want at the plate? I wan't the experienced veteran who's done this before.
Let me give you an example, I'm an LA guy and I love the Lakers. One of the Lakers is in the same position as Jeter. Aging, slower, average has declined. If you watch sports, you should know I'm talking about another Derek, Derek Fisher. Fisher is in the same situation as Jeter, and the media continues to bad-mouth them.
What the media doesn't count in are the intangibles that these two players bring to their respective organizations. They are leaders in the locker rooms, they play with class, and the are mentors to the new faces in the league.
Think about what goes through the mind of a rookie in the Yankees clubhouse. They look at Jeter and most likely see someone they grew up idolizing. Who doesn't want to be the best player on the country's most popular team? And then they see all the harsh things being said about them, by the media, the fans and worst of all, by the organization.
Why would someone want to play in a league like that, where you can become everyone's hero then in a heartbeat become yesterdays garbage. That is just like this country to cherish something then throw it to the side as soon as it begins to decline. It happens to our cars, to the elderly and even hall of fame players aren't safe.
Now I know that the Yankee organization is looking out for the interest of the team. Yes the name on the front of the jerseys is more important then the name on the back. Or in this case, the pin stripes are more important than whoever is wearing them. But would the organization have been the same if Jeter had never worn the pin stripes?
Jeter was an integral part of all five championships the Yankees won with him, especially the first four. I can stand here and say that without him they wouldn't have won the first four, that's how important he is to the team. Yes, the franchise would still be legendary without those four championships but they wouldn't really be the Yankees, because the Yankees are one of those fanchises that are supposed to win, not just some of the time, but all of the time.
So what should happen with Jeter then? I personally believe he needs a bit of a spark lit under him. We see it all the time, players get older and decline a bit, but something happens and their careers blossum once again. We're seeing it with Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon. No one wanted to give him a chance, the Yankees picked him up and he's having a great season for them this year. We saw it last year in the NFL with Donovan McNabb. He got benched in the Fourth quarter, that lit a fuse and he had some of his best moments after that.
I say move him down the order a bit. Let him hit behind Cano, someone who swings for the fences and averages a good amount of XBH's. That way you have someone with a better average batting leadoff and Jeter won't commit so many double plays this year, something he's done a lot.
I'm just saying give the guy a break. For everything he's done for baseball and that organization, he can afford to have a slow year or two. He's Derek Jeter for Christ's sake, he'll figure it out. For now lets just look at what's ahead, 3,000 hits, which he should get in New York this weekend against the Rays.
So as Jeter wakes up this morning, he should get out of bed, eat some breakfast, walk past the morning paper, head to the stadium and just do what he does best, be Derek freaken Jeter.
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