I stalked Derek Jeter's 3000th hit. I admit it. I wanted to see it. I needed to see it. So, of course, I did. Yet in conversation with my friend Jack on Monday, he suggested that maybe people care too much about sports and hinted that maybe I was one of those people. He asked...who cares? I did and I do.
There are a few marquee names in sports. Those players create a aura of success and perform best in big moments. Young boys grow up wanting to become those players and fathers dream of their sons playing those positions. Fathers wanted their sons to be the next Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Don Mattingly, Nolan Ryan, Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, etc. Derek Jeter leads that list for people of my generation.
Derek Jeter has been the starting shortstop for the Yankees since 1996, the same year I graduated from college. Meaning, he has been The Man my entire adult life. Father Time may be catching up on him. Thirty-seven is old for a shortstop (thankfully not old for a real estate broker since he and I are the same age), but for this summer day, July 9, 2011, he turned back the clock, went 5-5 with a home run, a double, a stolen base, and the game winning hit.
I have always said that if I could change lives with someone, the only person I would pick is Derek Jeter. We have spent the last 15 years watching Derek carry himself with class and dignity as the de facto Prince of The City. He says the right things, he play hard, he gets clutch hits, he dates the women we want to date, he treats the game and his elders with respect, he is respected by his competitors, he calls Joe Torre "Mr. T", he loves to win, hates to lose, he knew the right things to say when they closed The Stadium in 2008 and he smiles on the field because he's playing the game he loves. But still...why do we care?
I can't speak for anyone else, but I care because I love the game and Derek reminds me of what it was like to dream in the backyard as a kid. Back then, I was Don Mattingly getting a big hit or Dave Righetti striking out Wade Boggs to finish off the no-hitter. Do I wish I was the one that hit the ball to Jeffrey Maier in 1996? Do I wish I led off Game 4 of the 2000 World Series with a home run? Or was the MVP of the All Star Game and World Series in the same year? Do I wish I was the one that made "The Flip" in 2001 and hit a walk off home run in Game 4 of the World Series? Do I wish I had five World Series rings? Do I wish I had 3000 hits and was a lock to be a first ballot Hall of Famer? You bet your ass I do!
We care because as kids, baseball players were our heroes. We collected the baseball cards, memorized the stats, copied the batting stances, and needed to wear the same numbers as our favorite players when we played Little League. Some of our heroes let us down along the way, but that's not what today is about.
Derek Jeter hasn't let us down. Ever. He's not only the baseball player I want my son to be, but he seems like the kind of person I would want my daughter to marry.
We care because we haven't seen this before and it's always fun to see something we haven't seen before. The Yankee Tradition is long and storied and Jeter has written an important new chapter. I am lucky enough to say that I was there when he dove in to the stands against the Red Sox, when he hit the home run in Game 4 against the Mets 2000 and the walk off against the Diamondbacks in 2001, when he got his 2000th hit, when he made his speech closing The Stadium in 2008 and now I can say I was there for his 3000th hit. When he did, I high fived strangers and shared with 50,000 people a moment of pure elation that almost felt like we won the World Series.
We care because Derek Jeter is our guy and you don't have to be a Yankee fan to feel that way.
If you don't care...I kind of feel bad for you. You are truly missing out.
"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive" - BS
JN
PS A big public THANK YOU to my amazing wife who is nine months pregnant and yet insisted I attend the games necessary to see the 3000th hit.
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