Derek Jeter!
I am a real baseball fan. One of the best trips I ever took was to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. We visited the hall in 2015.
And I took this photo:
This was the cap Derek Jeter wore in the 2014 All Star Game. His last All Star Game, it was the year he retired.
Jeter spent his entire career playing for just one team, the New York Yankees, becoming the team's captain in 2003. He was instrumental in several Yankees World Series victories, including the 2000 Subway Series, when the Yanks defeated my New York Mets.
He was instrumental in lifting our spirits after 9/11. To quote Adam Sandler (as Opera Man) at the Concert for New York:
Yankees bring New York together
Yankees we even like Steinbrenner
Yankees now we break applause meter
With two words
DEREK JETER!!
He hits He fields
Hes got a cute-ah face
Even operaman would let him get to second base
I got to see Jeter play at Citi Field on June 24, 2012, when the visiting Yankees beat my New York Mets. Jen and Becca were at that game Jen in her pink Jeter jersey...
(Drew and I joke that we tried to raise our girls right, but they succumbed to peer pressure and became Yankees fans...)
How many players do you know who are honored by their opponents? In his last year, Jeter was honored by every team in the American League.One of the best ceremonies was by the Texas Rangers.
No one else could call upon a former President of the United States...
And on the last day of the season, the Red Sox -- the Yankees' most bitter rivals -- showed their respect.
Jeter's very last "at bat" in an amazing career.
The Yankees retired his number.
Later today Jeter will cap off his career when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame. A well-deserved honor.
Congrats, Derek!
Not a big sports fan, but I like the way you write and I often learn something.
ReplyDeleteQuite the player. A fitting tribute.
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