The Time Was Right for Jeter to Walk Away

Jeter will turn 40 this June and injuries are starting to get the best of him. In Game 2 of the 2012 American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers, Jeter suffered a fractured ankle on what appeared to be a routine fielding play for him. Due to the injury Jeter only appeared in 17 games last season as he hit a paltry .190. This season will be the last year of Jeter’s four-year, $60 million extension that he signed in 2010 as he will look to ride off into Yankee lore.

During the 1992 MLB Draft the Houston Astros owned the first overall pick and they were expected to select Jeter, but instead they opted for Phil Nevin. Jeter was then the sixth overall player chosen as the Yankees pegged him. Towards the end of the 1995 MLB season Jeter was the skinny 21-year old kid that made his way up to the big club. That season Jeter appeared in 15 games, but he failed to make the Yankees postseason roster. By 1996, Jeter became the everyday shortstop for the Bronx Bombers as he hit .310 and he became the first Yankee to win the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award since Dave Righetti in 1981. That year Jeter also helped the Yankees win their first World Series Championship since 1978. 

The baseball world will always remember some of Jeter’s classic moments.

In the 2000 World Series with the Yankees leading the New York Mets in the series 2-1, Jeter led off Game 4 with a home run and the Yankees never looked back as they won their third consecutive title. In the 2001 American League Division Series, the Yankees found themselves trailing in the series 2-0 against the Oakland Athletics. Great players find a way to uplift their team when the time calls for it and Jeter did just that by making a series saving play by fielding an errant throw from the outfield and flipping it behind his back to catcher Jorge Posada who tagged Jeremy Giambi out at the plate. The Yankees would rally to win the series 3-2.

No matter what, Jeter will finish his MLB career in the top 10 of hits as his 3,316 career hits are three behind Hall of Famer Paul Molitor for 9th place on the all-time list. Through the illustrious history of the Yankees, Jeter is the only player to collect 3,000 or more hits while in a Yankee uniform. Jeter will also finish his career as the Yankees all-time leader in games played, at-bats, stolen bases and plate appearances.

After missing the playoffs last season Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has re-tooled this team with the likes of outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and catcher Brian McCann for 2014. Jeter is the last of the Yankees core consisting of outfielder Bernie Williams, Posada, starting pitcher Andy Pettitte, and relief pitcher Mariano Rivera who helped the Bronx Bombers win five World Series Championships between 1996-2009 that is still active. Jeter saw the bittersweet departures of Williams and Posada several years ago while he bid a tearful goodbye to both Pettitte and Rivera last season. Now it will be time for a swan song for Jeter with a caravan around MLB ballparks with teams more than likely showering him with farewell gifts.

Unlike many great professional athletes, Jeter has the opportunity to walk away on his own terms instead of being shown the door.

This won’t be the end of the line for Jeter as the Yankees could give him a cushy front office job while he can also make personal appearances. Nobody should be sad to see Jeter go as he has lived the life that most people could only dream of. Jeter played his entire 20-year MLB career in New York City and with the Yankees. Jeter is a 13-time MLB All-Star and five-time World Series Champion. In 2003, Jeter was also named the first Yankee captain since Don Mattingly retired in 1995. Jeter has also made over $253 million from playing baseball; not to mention numerous endorsement deals with mega companies such as Ford Motor Company and the Jordan Brand. Jeter survived dealing with the Steinbrenner family for two decades while also being romantically linked to the likes of Mariah Carey and Jordana Brewster. Jeter will leave behind a lasting legacy in the Big Apple with baseball fans and teeny boppers alike. The Baseball Writers have never unanimously elected a player to the Baseball Hall of Fame and it will be interesting to see the lame duck excuses that some of these writers will come up with for not voting for Jeter in 2020.

Not to many people were able to do what Jeter did in New York City. Jeter was Joe Namath off of the field while being Joe DiMaggio on it. I don’t know about you, but I feel sorry for the Yankees Opening Day shortstop in 2015 because he will have some mighty big shoes to fill.