Saturday, June 28, 2014

Derek Jeter: 40 for 40

By Anthony Strait, OTSL Floor Director

Derek Jeter-the honorable captain of the New York Yankees celebrated his 40th birthday this past week. To honor one of the great Yankee players of All-Time, lets run down a list of 40 things that should have Jeter in Cooperstown when he retires.

40. Derek Jeter makes his Major League Debut on May 29, 1995 against the Seattle Mariners. Following an 0 for 5 start; he recorded the first hit of his career with a sharp single to left field off starter Mariners closer Tim Belcher. 

39. Jeter became the number six overall pick by the Yankees in the 1992 draft behind the likes of Jeffery Hammonds, B. J. Wallace, Paul Shuey and Chad Motta-who combined for a grand total of only 2 All-Star game appearances. 

38. Named 1994 Baseball America’s minor league player of the year.

37. Playing his first full season in the majors, Jeter wins the American League Rookie of the Year after finishing with a .314 average, 104 runs scored, 78 runs batted in and 10 home runs. Winning all 28 first place votes allowed him to become the fifth unanimous winner in the award’s history. 

36. What became something of a trademark: Derek’s jump throw from the hole between the shortstop position and 3rd base to get would-be baserunners trying to reach base became as much as common a sight in The Bronx as the number 4 train dropping off thousands of people at the 161st Street/Yankee Stadium stop on gameday. 

35. 12…as in the number of times Jeter has batted .300 or better during his 19 year career. 

34. 71.6..as in Jeter’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR).  Third most among active players and 58th all-time.

33. 13 All-Star appearances.

32. July 11,2000: Jeter wins MVP of the 2000 MLB All-Star game in Atlanta with three hits including the two-run single that gave the American League the lead for good in a 6-3 win for the Junior Circuit. 

31. Jeter spearheaded the Yankees offense during the 1996 postseason, batting .361 in the Yankees American League playoff wins against Texas and Baltimore and the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. 

30. In game one of the 1997 Division Series against Cleveland, Jeter, along with Tim Raines and Paul O’Neil, went back-to-back-to-back with home runs in the bottom half of the 6th inning to give the Yankees the lead in a Game One win. 

29. Old Yankee Stadium may have been the house that Ruth Built, but Derek Jeter was the true Hit King with 1,276 all-time.

28. Opening Day 1996 in Cleveland saw Jeter hit his first career home run in Jacobs Field.

27. May 28, 2011: in Seattle, fans witness Jeter passing Rickey Henderson to become the franchise all-time stolen base leader, notching his 328th stolen base.

26. On June 3, 2003 Jeter is named just the 15th captain in the long and storied history of the New York Yankees. Don Mattingly was the last captain before his retirement in 1995. 

25. 5…as in the five Silver Slugger awards he has won in his career.

24. September 20, 1996: against the Boston Red Sox, Jeter recorded the first walk off hit of his career with an RBI single in extra innings to give the Yankees a 12-11 win. 

23. Sports Illustrated names Jeter their “Man of the Year” following his 2009 season and another World Series title. 

22. Jeter led the majors in hits in 1999 and again in 2012 at the age of 38. 

21. May 26, 2006: Jeter becomes just the 8th Yankee to record 2,000 career hits against the Kansas City Royals. 

20. Derek Jeter had to wait a decade after his debut to accomplish this feat, but on June 18, 2005 versus the Cubs he hit his first career grand slam home run. 

19. Following the Mets win in Game 3 of the 2000 World Series to climb back in the series, Manager Joe Torre moved Jeter into the lead-off spot to help jumpstart the struggling Yankee offense. He responded on the very first pitch he saw from Mets pitcher Bobby Jones, hitting a lead-off home run that all but wiped away any momentum the Mets received from winning the previous night. 

18. In Game One of that very series against the Mets, Jeter’s defense saves the day for the Yanks. In the top half of the 6th inning Todd Zeile hits a deep fly ball to left field that hits the top of the wall. Timo Perez (who was on base) was heading home to possibly give the Mets the lead when Jeter catches the cut-off throw from left field and with a perfect throw home gets Perez out at the plate to end the inning. 

17. In Game Three of the 2003 American League Championship Series Jeter homered off Pedro Martinez to spark the Yankees rally. They came from behind to win that game 4-3. 

16. September 16, 2008 Jeter passes Lou Gehrig for the most career hits in Yankee Stadium history. 

15. Five…Gold Gloves won by Jeter throughout his career.

14. Four…number of times Jeter finished the season with an on-base percentage .400 or higher (1999, 2000, 2006, 2009).

13. A staggering 158 career postseason games played in his career. 

12. Game Five of the 2001 American League Division Series Jeter catches a pop fly along the 3rd baseline off the bat of Terrance Long, flipping and tumbling into the crowd while doing so. 

11. July 1, 2004 against the Red Sox, Jeter makes a running catch in extra innings. Running full steam; his momentum carried him two rows into the stands as he crashed face first into the seats along the 3rd base line. Jeter emerged bloodied under his right eye but may the play to end the inning. 

10. Following the very last game at old Yankee Stadium it was Jeter as the team captain and face of the franchise who addressed the sold out crowd with a speech as the Yankees and their fans bid farewell to “The House That Ruth Built”. 

“From all of us up here, it's a huge honor to put this uniform on every day and come out here and play.  Every member of this organization, past and present, has been calling this place home for 85 years. There's a lot of tradition, a lot of history and a lot of memories. The great thing about memories is you're able to pass them along from generation to generation.” 
“Although things are going to change next year and we're going to move across the street, there are a few things with the New York Yankees that never change. That's pride, tradition, and most of all; we have the greatest fans in the world. We're relying on you to take the memories from this stadium and add them to the new memories we make at the new Yankee Stadium and continue to pass them on from generation to generation. We just want to take this moment to salute you, the greatest fans in the world.”

9. In the 2009 postseason he hit .355, including .407 in the World Series. 

8. The Yankees have been in the playoffs in all but two seasons during Jeter’s playing career-that’s 16 playoff appearances in 18 years. 
7. Mr. November is born on November 1st, 2001. With Game Four of the World Series tied in extra innings-Derek Jeter hits the game winning home run just a few moments after midnight marking the first time a game has been played in the month of November.

6. As part of the 1998 Yankees team that won 114 games and is considered among the greatest teams ever, Jeter finishes the campaign with a .324 batting average, 19 homeruns and 84 runs batted in. 

5. The Flip.  With the Yankees holding a slim 1-0 lead in Game Three of the 2001 Division Series at Oakland and trailing in the series, Jeter made one of the all-time great defensive plays.  As Terrance Long doubled down the right field line. Outfielder Shane Spencer’s throw missed the cutoff man.  Jeter, hustling across the field to get to the errant throw, made a backhanded flip to Jorge Posada who was able to tag out Jeremy Giambi before he was able to touch home plate. The Yankees won the game and would go on to win the series. 

4. July 9th, 2011, Jeter joins the 3,000 hit club in style with a homerun off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on a 3-2 pitch. He finished the day with five hits. 

3. As one of the more celebrated sports figures of our generation he has been featured in many endorsements, television shows like Saturday Night Live and even has his own wax figure in Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Midtown Manhattan. 

2. He is the Yankees all-time leader in hits, games played, stolen bases and at-bats. 

1. Five…as in five World Series championships during his 19-year career including four in five years from 1996-2000 with another one added in 2009. 


The one number these days that is on the mind of Yankee and Baseball fans alike are the amount of games remaining in his stellar career. With that amount dwindling by the day - and barring a playoff run - we are witnessing the end for a once in a generation player who became the face of New York sports on and off the field with the kind of grace and humidity that could never be taught in Spring Training. Happy Birthday and cheers to a living legend.