"He'd been summoned by the baseball gods; to carry the torch, to help save the team and the stadium and maybe even the game of baseball itself." - Peter Richmond in GQ Magazine
Derek Jeter is the best player of my generation. There, I said it. I'm not even mad about it. Go ahead Jerry Remy revoke my Red Sox Nation card. I don't care. In fact, I happily accept Jeter wearing that title with open arms. Since he broke in the league as a 22-year-old pinstriped phenom Jeter has had an aura around him. A little pep in his step, if you will. And as Jeter closes in on Lou Gehrig's all-time hits record of 2,721, it only seems right to annoint him as simply the best.
To sit here and list off all the stats and all the accolades throughout Jeter's career would just be the tip of the iceberg. And he has a lot of those too, missing only a regular-season MVP award in his trophy room. Instead here are three pivotal moments in Jeter's illustrious career that have set him apart from the Albert Pujols', Barry Bonds', and Alex Rodriguez's of the world.
A budding star and natural-born leader emerges after game 6 of the 1996 World Series against Atlanta.
OCTOBER 26, 1996The
1996 New York Yankees were a savvy bunch to say the least. The roster was chock-full of veterans who knew who to play the game. Wade Boggs, Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, Ruben Sierra, Tim Raines, Jim Leyritz, and Cecil Fielder were among the veterans in the lineup. Kenny Rogers, David Cone, Dwight Gooden, and Jimmy Key anchored the pitching staff. This was a bunch of guys who have been through it all a thousand times. But the moment Derek Jeter's spikes crossed the white chalk on the field, it became his team.
There wasn't that much of a difference in personnel from '95 and '96. Except for making a 22-year-old with no more than 15 games of Major League experience. There is little coincidence the Yankees won four of the next five World Series after Jeter became an everyday player. He has that natural knack of when he speaks people listen. How he acts, people follow be it veteran, coach, or owner. For the playoffs Jeter had 22 hits in 15 games good for a .360 average, a .410 OBP, 3 SBs, and 3 RBIs.
You begin to scratch the surface after witnessing game 3 of the 2001 ALDS against Oakland.
OCTOBER 13, 2001The Yankees were down 0-2 in the series and facing elimination in the stadium. It was t
he seventh inning and a rocket down the firstbase line sent the not-so-fleet-of-foot Jeremy Giambi off at first. The ball rattles arounds the right-field corner and Shane Spencer comes up with it and fires homes. As Giambi hits third the ball is in flight, soaring over the heads of cutoff men Alfonso Soriano and Tino Martinez. Jeter is where he's supposed to be; on the pitcher's mound backing up Soriano and Martinez in case an errant throw misses them. It pays off to remember the fundamentals. Jeter sees the ball aiming towards the Athletics on-deck circle and scoops the ball up with both hands, and with momentum taking him towards foul territory flips the ball to Jorge Posada blocking home plate. Jeremy Giambi neglects the slide signal by his teammate and his career as he attempts to scurry past Posada's tag. The Yankees win the game. They go on to win the series, and the World Series. Jeter is named World Series MVP and is forever immortalized in baseball history.
Jeter's reaction to the play? Ho-hum. "I didn't have time to turn around, set up and throw," he told the press afterwards, as if the play was simply routine. "Basically, I just got rid of it. If I tried to spin around, he would have been safe."
You realize that you're dealing with a legendary player on 4th of July showdown with the Boston Red Sox.
JULY 4, 2004The Boston Red Sox come into New York reeling. Playing .500 ball for a few weeks going into the series, the Red Sox needed a pulse in order to avoid leaving the Bronx on life support. A frequent sub-story of the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry was the matchup of the two elite shortstops in baseball, Jeter and
Nomar Garciaparra. Jeter was Rookie of the Year in 1996. Nomar in '97. Nomar won the batting title in 1999 with a .359 average. Jeter hit .342 finishing second. Jeter had the rings. Nomar flashed the leather. They even were featured in commercials together. Two players perpetually bounded by their dominance on the field.
The divide had grown steadily going into 2004, however, as Nomar was injuried-proned and unhappy while Jeter sat on his throne as king of the Yankees. Once a guaranteed argument-starter, the world finally got their answer of who was the ultimate shortstop. As Nomar watched the game from the bench nursing an "injury", Jeter made a
play that forever immortalized him in baseball history, again. It was a 1-2 pitch from Tanyon Sturtz. Trot Nixon was the batter. Nixon lunged at the outside curve sending the ball towards the foul line in short left field. Jeter had the best angle, despite being 30 yards away from the balling. He sprints towards the foul line and picks the ball out of the air. He makes the impossible catch. Momentum then sends him diving head-first in the stands. Jeter is bleeding from his face as fans help him back to the field. The camera cuts to a slouching Nomar watching blankly as the play unfolds. Nomar is traded 27 days later, sparking a flame in the Red Sox who go on to win the World Series. He hasn't been the same player since.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention one thing. Jeter finished that game. It's his love of the game that separates Jeter from the rest.
During a period where the we lived by the motto "long live the long ball" a 5-tool shortstop went to work everyday and put in the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to be considered the best. As homerun hitters revilled in the spotlight, Jeter went along business as usual. And when those hitter fell from their perch because of steroids, Jeter took his rightful throne as the best in the game.
If not for his phenomenal on-the-field performance, for his parents who raised him right and for the way he carries himself. Sportswriter Gay Talese put it in the best words:
"He's rather unique for a young man in the 1990s. Endowed as he is with all that talent, all that money and such impeccable manners-that makes him an anachronism. In this era of boorish athletes, obnoxious fans, greedy owners and shattered myths, here's a hero who's actually polite, and that has to have come from good parenting. You can't compare him to Joe DiMaggio, for DiMaggio didn't have bad manners — he had no manners. Where have you gone, man with manners? Here you are, Derek Jeter."
There were plenty of good things going on in yesterday's ALCS game against the Angels. Joba Chamberlain giving up the lead was one of them. Seeing Jeff Mathis double in the game-winning run in the 11th was another. But as I was scrolling down my newsfeed on Facebook, I was a post from my friend Peter Costa. 
