THE YANKEES MOUNT OLYMPUS: DEREK JETER

Our Mount Olympus now reaches the top seven Yankees in our team’s history.

In 2001 Whitey Ford (number 8 on our list) wrote a book called “Few and Chosen Yankees: Defining Yankee Greatness Across Eras”.   In it, the Hall of Famer described his top five all-time Yankees at each position. 

At shortstop he chose Derek Jeter – our choice for number 7 in the list of greatest Yankees.

It tells you all you need to know about Jeter that Ford would select him as the organization’s best ever at his position.  After all, Ford played with Phil Rizzuto and yet chose Jeter, who had only been the team’s starting shortstop for five seasons when the book was published.

In my lifetime (going on 50 years) I’ve never seen a smarter athlete.

In the years since Curt Flood opened the doors of free agency, it has become rare for a player to spend his entire career with one organization.  Even the richest of clubs have trouble holding on to players that have climbed their way through the ranks to All-Star status.  As Yankee fans we know this all too well, don’t we Robinson Cano?

That’s what makes Derek Jeter so special, so iconic.

He was called up from the Yankees minor league system for 15 games in 1995.  In 1996 he was handed the Yankees starting shortstop job and hasn’t relinquished it since.

That first year he hit .314 and won Rookie of the Year while the team won its first championship since 1978.  During the playoffs Jeter hit .360.

It was only a sign of things to come.

As we enter the 2014 season, “Jeets” is the proud owner of five World Series rings, 13 All-Star appearances, five Gold Gloves and five Silver Slugger awards.  He holds a .312 lifetime batting average as well as a .308 post season average.  He has 3,316 career hits and is the first player to hit a home run in November.

Jeter is the 13^th captain in the history of the franchise and remains one of the faces of his sport.

Numbers and records only tell part of the story that is Derek Jeter.

His calm, professional demeanor has raised the bar for what it means to be a New York Yankee.  It is one of the reasons why he will one day have his number retired and bust in Cooperstown.

The special memories Jeter has given Yankees’ fans are numerous.  From the famous “flip” play against Oakland in the playoffs to diving into the stands to catch a foul ball against the Red Sox to hitting a game deciding November home run in the Fall Classic, our captain always appears to be at the right place at the right time.  It’s a credit to his athletic ability, hard work and baseball intellect.

As Jeter comes to the sunset of his bright career, we as baseball fans will realize just how privileged we have been to witness the brilliance of the Yankees’ greatest shortstop.

Last season, as a result of a horrific ankle injury suffered in the 2012 AL Championship, we caught a glimpse of life without Jeter in the Bronx. 

It wasn’t pretty.

The team missed the playoffs for just the second time in the past 18 seasons and while the absence of Jeter wasn’t the sole reason for the failure, the club lacked the on-field leadership only number two could provide.

The Yankees have undergone a face lift this off season with the additions of Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran, but perhaps the most important difference from last year will be that “Captain Clutch” is going to return to his spot in the lineup and on the field.

Only Jeter knows how many more summers he has in pinstripes, but one thing is certain; we have been fortunate to watch one of baseball’s immortals define an era.

    
--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1

  


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THIS MARLINS STORY JUST GOT WORSE

Not only does it appear that the Marlins have no regard for the city of Miami and the fans, they have no regard for the Marlins themselves. Wait until you read this, brought to you originally by Ken Rosenthal who's been all over this story. According to Rosenthal HERE:

"Shortstop Jose Reyes and left-hander Mark Buehrle, two of the five Marlins headed to Toronto in a pending blockbuster, are upset that the team broke verbal promises to them regarding trades, according to major-league sources.

The Marlins do not award no-trade clauses, but club officials, while recruiting Reyes and Buerhle as free agents last offseason, assured both players that they would not be moved, sources said..."

How disgraceful is this Jeffrey Loria, and team president David Samson?  So clearly to them,  these players are property. No regard to loyalty at all. They are only out for themselves. Don't forget, Buehrle was going to sign with the Nationals for 3 years, but when the Marlins offered him 4 years, that "stability" package that players like when they're at the end of their careers, he switched to Miami.  When it came to Reyes, he went for 6 years.  Now, they may being going to Toronto if Bud Selig approves it.  Bottom line, he shouldn't and he needs to have to balls to reject this trade.  If not, dare I say, not only do Loria and Samson need to walk, so would Selig. This is now borderline corruption.

Players as property and disregard for respect of players who give their talents to a team to win a championship. Have we gone back in time?  My God.  Curt Flood.... where are you when we need you?

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WHY SWISHER'S FUTURE IN PINSTRIPES LOOKS DIM

We all know it’s coming… and no one wants to talk about the reality of it…except Joel Sherman of the New York Post, and guess what, he’s entitled. Read HERE.
 

The Yankees have pretty big decisions coming up this off season, and yes, I hate to rush this season along, but there are really important things to think about.  One of course is Robinson Cano, the other is Curtis Granderson.  Joel Sherman writes: "...the Yankees are serious about getting under the $189 million luxury tax threshold in 2014, which means they are not re-signing Nick Swisher after this season."

So, where does that leave Nick Swisher, the most fun loving New York Yankee in recent memory? Probably not returning to the Bronx. That’s the harsh reality.  Look, it works like this, Nick Swisher has a huge opportunity to have his best season ever as a New York Yankee…I believe he will, I said it here on Bleeding Yankee Blue plenty of times.  Swish has gotten off to a decent start and the reality is, he has an opportunity to get a real nice contract and pay day from any team in Major League Baseball if this season is extra special.  He can play a decent right field, has a great arm and can even play first base if needed.  Plus if the Yankees were to try to keep Curtis Granderson, which would be a smart thing to do as well as signing Robinson Cano, which should be their top priority, to a long term deal, where does that leave Nick Swisher?

And factor this in... could Eduardo Nunez play the outfield and if the Yankees can train this kid to become an every day right fielder at a cheaper price, than why would we need Nick? I'm not rooting against Swish, I'm just suggesting that there are cheaper options for the Yanks. No, it doesn't need to be Nunez, it would be a cheap free agent, all I'm saying is, if Sherman is serious, we have to consider it. By the way, read BYB's piece on Nunez titled WHY NOT MAKE NUNEZ AN OUTFIELDER?

Now sure, it’s always possible that Nick Swisher comes back to the New York Yankees next year, but let’s be honest, that’s not fair to Nick Swisher.  What I mean is, say he does have a monster year in pinstripes, are you really going to insult him with a low ball contract to continue to play right field for the Mighty Yankees? No. It’s wrong to do and if the Yankees want to stick to that $189 million figure, Nick Swisher is not in the Yankees plans.  Don’t get all pissed at me… that’s business and good for Nick Swisher if he can go somewhere for whatever long term deal he can get. He can thank Curt Flood for that because he’s the one that made these free agency moves possible in baseball. (Read HERE.)  Nick has the right and can and should move on if the opportunity is big enough.

For now though, we have a ton of Yankee baseball to play, and let’s be honest, I love watching Swisher this season.  There was nothing better than seeing the Yankees rout the Red Sox this past weekend and Swisher pounding his chest like King Kong in Fenway Park.

There’s nothing better…and the more I think about it, the more I feel like it was expected…even Red Sox fans understood that passion. They didn't like it, but they understood it.  So message to John Kruk…chillax. Swisher had adrenaline pumping through his veins that day, that’s why Yankee fans love him.  You should try that with your gig at ESPN, maybe you’d be better at your job... just a thought.

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