Shortstop continues to play after record hit
Even Derek Jeter readily admitted he wouldn’t have bought the script if it had been written and presented to him. That’s how magical it was in the Bronx over the weekend.
Any time an aging future Hall of Famer reaches the 3,000-hit plateau — professional baseball’s most elite club — it is a special and emotional moment. But to hit the magic mark on a home run? And to follow it up with three more hits for a stellar 5-5 day at the plate? Disney would blush at such a suggestion.
Jeter’s day was a truly amazing one. However, it was not that solely because of aforementioned milestone home run or all the hits he racked up. No, his day is one that will never be forgotten because of how he went about it.
Jeter is 37 years old. He recently missed 18 games on the disabled list. He skipped Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Phoenix, to which he was voted by fans as the American League’s starting shortstop, in order to give his still-recovering right calf the rest it needs.
Conventional wisdom says the minute he hit the home run for No. 3,000, rounded the bases, hugged his teammates and coaches and acknowledged the thunderous ovations those in attendance were showering him with, he should’ve taken the rest of the day off.
It happens all the time when an athlete reaches a major career achievement, and one that comes with a ready-made deluge of intense media scrutiny and anticipation at that. After all of the pressure and expectation, let the reserve get some reps while the man (or woman) who just scaled the mountain takes a few relaxed moments and enjoys the summit after such a grueling and taxing journey.
No one would have faulted Jeter for doing just that. Not an unkind or critical word would’ve been said if he had gone back into the Yankee dugout and walked straight down the hallway to the privacy of the clubhouse to await the postgame press conference.
But, he stayed in the game. He’s Derek Jeter.
Jeter has had one of the greatest individual careers in the history of Major League Baseball. But his personal success has always been a means of achieving success for his team. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, his ability to perform when the stakes are highest has never wavered. His single-minded focus has never drifted away from an annual drive to win the World Series. Even as the whole world has been fixated on Derek Jeter, the man himself has never joined them.
So, he kept playing. Three more hits, including the eventual game-winner against division rival Tampa Bay, followed. In the end, Jeter got the number, but more importantly in his eyes, he got the win.
Pretty magical, if I don’t say.