Saturday, July 9, 2011

Congrats to the Captain! #3,000 In Style!


Hey everyone, Drew back here. So, after waking up nice and late today, I took a shower, and realized it was about 1:00. I turned on the Yankee game and threw on my Derek Jeter pinstripe jersey. Jeter, who was 2 hits away from 3,000 just 2 hours ago, got a base hit in the first inning, and then he came up in the 3rd inning. Yankee Stadium was booming for the Captain to reach his 3,000th career hit, and Derek worked the count to 3-2, and after fouling off a few pitches, Jeter came up clutch once again, driving the ball off David Price into the bleachers for his 3,000th career hit!

I didn't start to follow baseball to the level I have, until about 2005. I remember watching the Red Sox eliminate my Yankees back in 2004, which was tough to swallow, but got me into baseball so much more. Whether he was batting 1st or 2nd in the order, I always loved to watch Derek Jeter play, especially when I started to watch baseball. With thanks to the Yankees worldwide popularity, his name became larger than life, and while their statistics don't compare, he is currently the Babe Ruth of baseball in terms of popularity.

Watching Jeter start to struggle these past two seasons have been tough, but it's also around that time that the good years of his career started to pay off. Last year, he passed Lou Gehrig for sole possession of the most hits ever by a Yankee player. And now, he joins the famous 3,000 hit club, becoming the 28th player ever to do so. Among his company are 24 Hall of Famers, including a future Hall of Famer in Craig Biggio, and two players that may never may Cooperstown due to their respective controversies: Pete Rose and Rafael Palmeiro. When the captain calls it quits, Cooperstown will be waiting for him, and there is no way I'm missing it.

While as of now I think of the fun loving, and fan favorite outfielder Nick Swisher as my favorite baseball player, I have an extreme amount of respect for Derek Jeter, and after all, until Swish came to the Bronx, Jeter was my favorite player. He got me into the National Junior Honor Society last year, when I wrote an essay about why I look up to him as a role model and idol. While he may be bothering his neighbors with a fancy mansion, and may be asking for too much money, he is a great role model and I'm proud to look up at him.

As I speak, Jeter continues to be clutch, now 4-4 in the game, giving him 3,002 hits lifetime! He needs a triple for the cycle, as if this day has not been enough of a fairytale, as Michael Kay says.

Congratulations to Derek Jeter, and thank you for all the wonderful memories you've given New York over your incredible career! Here's to many, many more clutch hits in a clutch career!

See Ya!

*UPDATE: Jeter singled for the 3rd time following this post, and finished his magical day going 5-5!*

1 comment:

  1. While I am definitely not a Yankee fan (surprised?), I do recognize that Jeter is a good ball player and deserving of his place in history. Ok, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit for having to compliment a Yankee. Glad he got to 3,000. Better question now, though... who gets there next?

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