You walk through life being a Yankee fan and hearing about the stories of guys like Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle or Bobby Richardson. My dad would blab about how he never saw anyone hit as well as Yogi Berra and how "Back when I was a kid, the monuments were out in center field. There would be times when the ball would roll back there and the fielder would have to go retrieve it."
I vaguely remember seeing the fans storm the field after the 1976 ALCS and Chambliss's homer. Like actually seeing it on TV... not the recaps years later. I mean, I was just a kid and even back then I was thinking "Oh, they're gonna get in trouble."
I remember the brawl between Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin in the dugout. I remember Bucky Dent's homer and the 1981 World Series Game 1 when Ron Guidry pitched and I sat in the mezzaline in right field with my dad. The Bronx was electric that night.
I remember Jim Abbott's no hitter, Coney's perfect game and the night Derek Jeter was anointed Mr. November in a time where this country needed the biggest hug of our lives. And I remember this young skinny kid named Derek just help carry the Yankees with one of the greatest teams I have ever seen as a Yankee fan.
Derek Jeter wasn't supposed to be a superstar, but Derek Jeter worked his tail off to become a superstar. And let's take it further... it wasn't him selfishly looking to be a superstar during his workout routines and extra BP. It was his goal to help a team be the greatest, because, that's what baseball is... a team effort every step of the way. And I think if you were ask Derek about his career, that is what he would say, something like... "Good teams win championships... if I could contribute in every game to make that possible, I did my job as a ballplayer."
All this fanfare about the Captain making it to the Hall of Fame is almost too much for the guy. He's not that dude. Ricky Henderson? He knows he's the greatest and he'll tell everyone that would walk by. Jeter had swagger, but not the guy you'd hear squacking about how amazing he was. He did it with his glove... his bat and his leadership and loyalty to a team and fan base for his entire career.
Derek Jeter is going into the Hall of Fame today. It is one of the biggest things a Yankee fan will ever witness. Jeter never gave us much when it came to the media and there probably won't be much today as well, but one thing I do know is his poise and professionalism helped him become a true leader, growing up in front of our eyes.
John Quincy Adams said "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
JETER IS A GREAT ROLE MODEL FIRST, A GREAT PLAYER NEXT
WHAT JETER DID FOR A GENERATION OF BALLPLAYERS
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