On Thursday September 25th, Yankee fans from all over the country came to say goodbye to their beloved captain, Derek Jeter. As Jeter caps off his 19th season in the league, he will end his career with some of the greatest achievements of anyone to ever play the game. Jeter batted a lifetime .310 with 260 home runs and 1311 RBI. He had 3465 hits, and finished 6th on the all-time hits list only behind Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, and Tris Speaker.
Jeter was drafted by the New York Yankees 6th overall in the 1992 Major League Draft. After spending four seasons in the minor leagues, he made his Major League debut on May 29th, 1995.
Jeter has also put together an impressive trophy room including 14 all-star selections, 5 Gold Glove awards, 5 Silver Slugger awards, 2 Hank Aaron Awards, and a Roberto Clemente award. He also won a Rookie of the Year award and was the All-Star Game and World Series MVP in 2000. The most impressive of all Jeter’s trophies is 5 World Series titles. Jeter has batted .351 in his World Series career earning him the nicknames “Captain Clutch” and “Mr. November.”
Jeter ended his home career on Thursday, September 25th, 2014 against the Baltimore Orioles. Although the season has not gone the Yankees way, it has been a special season for everyone involved with the organization. Jeter who has always had a flare for theatrics hit a deep double to bring in a run for his first at bat and scored one hit later. After the Orioles hit two home runs in the top of the 9th inning, the Yankees were tied. When Brett Gardner sacrificed to bring Antoan Richardson to second, and scoring position, Jeter came to the plate. Jeter, as the stadium’s volume raised exponentially, hit a walk- off single to end his career at Yankee stadium.
In his last game Sunday, September 28th, against the rival Red Sox, Jeter hit an RBI single in a 9-5 win in his final game as a Yankee. The Red Sox and their fans put aside their hatred of the Yankees to show their respect to the Yankee Captain with a touching tribute before the game. Fans everywhere will miss Jeter’s presence as one of the truly great players of ever.