A day late and a dollar short on this but, whadda ya say? Derek Jeter is a Hall of Famer!
It was so much fun watching him and rooting for him all those years, from precocious rookie—all the girls loved him!—to salty vet, he was the model Yankee of his generation, taking over where Don Mattingly and Willie Randolph left off. Sure, he was a little frosty in the second half of his career, but there was no doubt we were seeing the best shortstop in team history and that was just so much fun.
Watching him was fun because he was having so much fun—at least between the lines.
Jeter was voted in by all but one voter and naturally that’s caused a stir, but hell, that’s how we stay warm in the off-season, right? Mincing words over stupid stuff.
Nice to see Larry Walker get in, too. He always seemed like a no-doubt-about-it guy when he played. Great swing, serious hose, so damn good. But what’s up with that Sponge Bob T-shirt he was wearing when he got the call? Dag, jocks can be goofy, dude.
Larry going in with the Rockies as opposed to the Expos; it makes sense from a production standpoint, though he's probably disappointed a whole lot of Canadians. That leaves three teams without a player in the Hall: Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins. The Expos miss out on two more guys going in with their hat; Walker and Vlad Guerrero.
I was at at a AAA Rochester Red Wings/Columbus Clippers game at Silver Stadium, I think it was '95. It was my first time seeing Jeter, and I went with a close Yankee friend who really wanted to see him play because we both tracked the Clippers. Jeter wasn't quite anonymous, people were already booing him loudly.
As I recall it, he got catcalls on his name in his first at bat, during which he singled, and stole second during the next batter, and scored on the next single in the span of about one minute.
If I'm wrong, I'm sorry. But that's pretty much what I recall about the first time I saw Jeter come to the plate. It set the stage for the fact that I knew I was watching someone who didn't take time off in the middle of the work day.
I'm almost certain I took time off of the middle of the workday to go.
[2] Similar experience that same year trekking from Westchester to Scranton (back when that was the Phila AAA) to see the Clippers come through town.
I can't remember whether anyone was talking about Posada, Pettitte or even Rivera, but as with your time in Rochester there was definitely already a spotlight on Jeter. Knowing I saw them in the minor leagues really adds perspective to seeing them in Cooperstown.
Happy trails, Curtis.
[5] Pretty decent career, interestingly he was more of a standout in Detroit, but aside from 2007 his best production came with the Yanks and Mets.. If Aaron Hicks ends up having a similar career production and defense-wise, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. Like Didi, I was sad to see him not be brought back at the end of his contract (after an injury-shortened season), and still he bounced back and was very productive for the other NY team for the next three seasons. Also sorry he didn’t get to quit on his own terms, but he’s got nothing to be sorry for himself. I wish him great luck with his new mission!
Did you see that Boonie nailed the SuperBowl score?
Itchers and scratchers next Wednesday