Derek Jeter was my favorite baseball player even before he was today’s “Derek Jeter”. Fortunately, I got to see him play during his rookie season in 1996 in which he went 4-for-4 with a homerun against the Chicago White Sox (Dad’s company tickets – yes I was a Cubs fan at this point already). Our tickets were on the 3rd base side, 4 rows up so I felt like I was one of the players myself! Derek Jeter played a position called shortstop, which my dad had to explain to me, is one of the toughest positions on the field and explain why it was indeed called “shortstop”. Immediately, I was focused on only him the rest of the game. He looked much younger than all the other players and smaller than most (especially compared to the Big Hurt) but for some reason, his demeanor was addictive to watch and he looked like he was having more fun than anyone else. Every inning, he was the first one out of the dugout to take the field and I noticed he would sprint to his position unlike the 7 other players jogging to their positions and the pitcher (who always walked to the mound). From watching Jeter that day, I noticed that he conducted himself differently; he took groundballs differently, and swung differently. He was mature beyond his years and acted like he had been playing Major League baseball for half of his lifetime already. I thought it was strange how he would talk and interact with the opponents when they made it to second base…it made no sense…they were the competitors. Later I realized this was who he was and he always served as a gentleman and a sportsman first, a competitor second. The Yankees won the game by a large margin (the score, I don’t recall) and on the way home we listened to the post-game radio show filled with praise of this “kid” named Derek Jeter. They talked about his hustle, his drive to be a great player in the league and above all, his clean, competitive nature. After that game, my 7-year-old self told my dad I no longer wanted to play soccer and instead I wanted to play baseball and I needed to play shortstop while wearing the number 2. My dad laughed and said my timing was great as Little League summer baseball sign-ups were only days away. I was so excited to play baseball and when the day came to pick jerseys I had to wrestle the number 2 out of another kid’s hands…I won. From that game on, Derek Jeter implanted himself as my childhood hero and baseball mentor. I collected all his baseball cards and had both his home and away jerseys…I even played baseball with his Rawlings PRODJ2 glove. As the years went by, I stuck with playing shortstop and wearing the number 2. I emulated him from his jump-throw to his batting stance; to the way he conducted himself on and off the field. My talents did not mirror Jeter’s but it gave me hope and inspiration to be better every game, every season. I wanted opponents to think of me as big-leaguers thought of Jeter. I wanted to play shortstop as long as physically possible, in a way, to stay connected with Jeter. I was fortunate enough to play on the same high school field that Jeter attended and play college baseball in which I would continue to honor my hero. Being a die-hard Cubs fan and loving the shortstop for the most beloved and also hated franchise in sports history was tough – and my friends to this day still give me a hard time for it – but in a way, I grew up with Derek Jeter. I have a connection with him that is personal and strong. I’ve been blessed to see Jeter play in person many times. Whether I am 7, 17, or even 26, I watch him play with the same excitement and emotion as I did when I saw him play for the very first time. Derek Jeter has no Idea who I am or how much he has impacted my love for the game (shall I say HE created my love for the game) but if I did ever get the chance to meet him (yes…it’s on my bucket list) I would tell him THANK YOU… Thank you for teaching me about baseball, about playing shortstop, about being a true competitor. Thank you for making baseball fun to watch, fun to learn and fun to play. Thank you for the thrills, the crazy moments that only you could have pulled-off and the spectacular plays. Thank you for the memories, for the championships and for coming through in the clutch. Thank you for being the Captain of the most historic franchise in baseball history and leading the team YOUR way. Thank you for staying clean off the field and being a great idol and role model to the millions of fans and followers alike, but most of all: Thank you for leaving baseball a much better place than when you entered. Forever #2 but #1 in my mind. Thanks Captain. Derek Jeter #re2pect #thankyoucaptain #GOAT #DJ #myhero #DJ3K #captain #newyorkyankees #shortstop #derekjeter
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 00:04:56 +0000