Re2pect: Thank you, Captain



Growing up in the 70s, my Yankee heroes were Catfish, Goose, Guidry, Jackson, Munson, Murcer, Nettles and Piniella. The late 70s had a lot of great moments for the boys in pinstripes. Some tragedy too, but some great, great memories.

Then, in the 80s, it was Mattingly, and also Randolph, Winfield and Rickey too. Aside from those guys, though, these were bleak years for the Yankees. Also, during those same 80s, I was lucky enough to spend some time with the likes of Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle, as I caddied for them on a Long Island country club.  

I wondered what it must have been like to witness these guys playing—to actually witness baseball legends in the field and batter’s box, to actually see players who fans still talk about so many years later. To that point, I merely knew of the careers of such legends via the few highlights available, reading stories about them and hearing my parents talk about seeing these greats play, along with the likes of  DiMaggio and Berra and Rizzuto, in the 40s and 50s.

Well, the 90s started off as bleakly for the Yankees as the 80s had ended. Then the Yankees got some key veterans (Key, Cone, O'Neill, etc) and then some young guys started to hold their own, and for the first time in 20 years the Yankees entered another glorious phase.

Among those young players of course was Derek Jeter. Like Rivera who retired last year, neither was deep into their career before I knew I was watching someone special, someone who indeed would be talked about years later. Sure, the Yankees have a way of keeping alive the memory of even middling players with their Old Timers Days pomp and circumstance. But, 20, 30 and 40 years from now, I’ve little doubt there will be Yankee fans wondering what it would have been like to watch Jeter play live—whether hitting dramatic home runs in October and November, or making flips to home plate from across the first base foul line, or running full speed and head first into the crowd and emerging with a bloodied face and a ball in his glove. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, there were better statistical shortstops for stretches, but I can’t think of any one shortstop who played so long and so well on one team, who did it with his hustle, who played with his smile, who interacted with fans the way he did and who enjoyed the post-season success he did. I don’t need a glorious WAR star. I’m just glad my team had Jeter. 

And I no longer have to wonder what it is like to see a legend play, because  I saw Derek Jeter play.

Thanks for the memories, Captain. Re2pect.

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2014 at 9:41 PM

    Nicely put Tom. Got to say when you wrote that you knew you were watching someone special it made me think about how much I always took that for granted. How the guy always played and acted at such a good level so consistently for such a long amount of time. It always seemed effortless and thus became second to fans to expect nothing less from Jeter. funny how demanding we, as humans first and baseball fans second, can truly be. Jeter satisfied that lust in us for a very long time. So maybe Olberman was right on a couple things with the way he finagled some statistics but he totally disregarded that x factor. High level of play and character, consistency and longevity. I'm feeling a little dumbfounded that it took me reading your piece to really enjoy that emotion that comes with realizing that we truly got to watch a legend play in our lifetime. Thanks ! Larry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tomSeptember 26, 2014 at 11:56 AM

      Thanks for the response, Larry. But, I actually remember you giving it back to a "fan" at that Yankee playoff game we went to in 1999 (?!). Jeter had just made an out and got booed and you asked one fan booing how he seriously could be doing that after all Jeter had done to that point in his career. You seemed perfectly aware of what you were watching. As for Olberman, well, for him to make the comments he did without mention his nearly 3.5K hits or career playoff hits, etc, or compare his importance on the team to players who were around for a handful of years says plenty to me. I could go on for a while, but what Jeter did over his career in NY is...legendary.
      tt

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

25 AAA ballparks visited, 5 to go!

Image
A snapshot of the current AAA venues where I've seen a game. The funny thing about AAA ballparks is I can't think of a single one I didn't really like. Well, at least not after a renovation gave me a second chance to form a first impression. Nor until attendance at unseasonably cold or damp April and May games in some of the northeast stadiums was remedied with second and third games at them in the summer months, rectifying any lukewarm perceptions I may have previously had. Yes, it may have taken a couple of ballgames at them, but each AAA ballpark left me with a very favorable impression. Unlike MLB ballparks, where my journey to see them all started 20 years earlier, my AAA chase is a more recent undertaking. With 5/6 of the AAA ballparks now under my belt, I thought I'd take a look back at the journey so far. Not long after moving up to the Hudson Valley in the mid 2000s, my MiLB ballpark chasing got underway, much like a ballplayer's journey might progress, fro...
Read more

That top-32 National Park list I once created

Image
I'm enjoying watching a few friends near the completion of their National Park quests. Earlier this year, while traveling through the three Florida National Parks, it was likewise enjoyable but also encouraging talking to fellow travelers pursuing their own such journeys: a father and son were hitting their 40th, and one woman was at her penultimate with plans to finish in September. That's all great stuff to me.  These quests also lead to questions from interested observers. "What's the first  #NationalPark  you'll be visiting when this is over?", "What's your favorite National Park?", "What are your top 3/5/10?" These are some of the questions I see posted and get asked. With 44/62 seen, I don't know if it's fair to assemble such a list, but here's how I ranked the top 32 I've visited. Yeah, if I redid it, many spots could flip, but the top 4 or so are pretty well locked in, until one of the 18 I'm missing changes ...
Read more

Tipping and ripping the cap

A belated tip of the cap to this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame inductees. I know the NFL and NBA Halls had their 2010 inductions more recently, and an eventual nodding of the helmets to the former may follow. It’s just that a recent conversation prompted this post. In this era of free agency, the need for players to don one team’s cap over another when their plaque is created seems to be something of a relic, especially when a player has left an indelible mark on multiple teams. Even if the bulk of his career or prime numbers rest mainly with one team, should that team be solely associated with that player when he gave another some great years? Conversely, if, say, a contract or personal quarrel leaves bad blood between a player and the team where his HOF numbers were earned, should that player have the right to select some team where he had less impact? Admittedly, most inductees do lean to one team or another in terms of career dominance, and Wikipedia, under the "Players with mu...
Read more