Captain Clutch

       

       


    When you think of Derek Jeter what do  you think of? His first hit in Seattle?  His first home run in 1996 against Cleveland? Game 1 of 96 ALCS against Baltimore(a little help from my friends)? Flip Play? Mr. November?  There are so many things that come to mind when I think of Derek Jeter.  Everyone knows he comes through In the clutch hence the name “Mr. Clutch”.  Just like my grandfather’s favorite player is Lou Gehrig and my father’s favorite player is Mickey Mantle,  Derek Jeter is mine. The one thing all 3 of these players have in common is that they were Yankee lifers.

  

  As everyone knows, Derek is retiring at season’s end. Once he gets in that Hall of Fame ballot, he’s going to go on his first try, like many other elusive players before him. He sports a career .312 batting average, has over 3300 hits, which ranks him number 8 all time, and has over 1900 runs to name a few things.  Derek is in the top 5 in most all time categories for the Yankees,  including games, at bats, and stolen bases. He is also the Yankees all time hits leader.  

    

    Many players play to get into that exclusive club of winning. Derek has always been about winning. He’s been to 7 World Series and has won 5 of them. He won the 2000 World Series MVP, as well as All Star game MVP that very same year. “Mr. Clutch” has been to a total of 13 all star games which tells you what his peers, and fans, think of him. In 2003, “The Boss” gave Derek a very special title in the “Captain”. Very few players in baseball, let alone Yankees history, are named Captain of their respective teams. This is another reason why he is known to be very clutch.

     

     One thing I feel people neglect to realize about “The Captain” is how consistent he has been.  He has 12 years of hitting .300 or higher. Only being on disabled listed TWICE in 20 years shows consistency in health and taking care of himself.  Derek also has 8 seasons of 200 or more hits and 11 seasons of at least 190 hits. Many people feel that he is not your typical baseball player, but why? Is it because he was not a power hitter in a “Power Hitter”(steroid) era? There are so many great players who fall into a similar category to him, like the late great Tony Gwynn. This is what  made Derek stand out.

      

     Over the past 20 years, Derek Jeter has not only become baseball’s ambassador, but the true face of the sport. Five years from now, when he appears on the Hall of Fame ballot, he will be going in on the first ballot no doubt. There is even the possibility that he’ll be going in unanimously.  I believe that he is the greatest shortstop to ever play the game. Many people will disagree with me and tell me they think Honus Wagner, respectively. Regardless, Captain Clutch will go down as not only of the greatest players the game has seen, but one of its best people it has seen.