Love them passionately or hate them viciously, the New York Yankees have been one of the hallmark franchises in all of professional sports. This storied franchise seemed to have it all. Legendary sluggers such as Babe Ruth, dominant pitchers such as Whitey Ford, and numerous great players that come along once in a generation. But through all that greatness and all of the tradition that seems to have climbed to the heights of the tallest New York city skyscraper, they had never had a single player who had accumulated 3,000 hits. However, all that changed earlier today when shortstop Derek Jeter achieved the milestone by taking David Price deep in the 3rd inning of the Yankees 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. And 3,000 hits may be a first class ticket to the hall of fame, but what is truly great about Jeter is the way he carries himself on the diamond. No matter what the situation, he handles it with class and takes everything in stride.
Between the flashing of the cameras, the roar of the crowd, and the electric stuff that Price was bringing would have shattered the will of a lesser man; but all of this was just another typical at bat for New York Yankees captain. And as everything he seems to do, Jeter handled the pressure and praise of getting the biggest hit of his life with the excellence that we have all come to expect. The Yankee captain went five for five with two runs batted in and became the second player in baseball history to record his 3,000th hit on a home run. Oh, and he drove in the game winning run with his fifth hit and second run batted in during the bottom of the eighth inning. This individual milestone is just another accomplishment on his list that makes him a hall of fame player.
Throughout his 17 seasons in pinstripes, Jeter has a .312 batting average, 236 home runs, 1157 runs batted in and a total of seven 200 hit seasons. In addition to his regular season averages, the captain is a 12 time all star, five time gold glove winner, and a four time silver slugger. Very productive numbers, but where the captain has thrived over the course of his career has been in October; where the games matter most. Jeter's career postseason numbers consist of a .309 batting average, with 20 home runs and 57 runs batted in in 30 postseason series. And the productivity in the playoffs have resulted in five world series rings sitting in Jeter's trophy case. The most special of these playoff accomplishments has been is 2000 world series Most Valuable Player award. And we all know the greatest players show up in the biggest moments, Jeter has done that with a vengeance.
Now with a hall of fame resume wrapped up with a bow on top, the next question is where does number 2 rank on the list of all time Yankee greats? The short answer is in the top 10 without question. Jeter is the only Yankee with 3,000 hits and is a proven winner. The long answer, I'd put him as the 7th best Yankee behind Ruth, Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Mariano Rivera, and Whitey Ford. Yes Jeter has more hits than any of the other members on this list, but Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle all have far superior offensive numbers compared to Jeter. As for the two pitchers on the list, Rivera is the best closer ever with just as many rings as Jeter; and Whitey Ford is regarded as the best starter in Yankee history for he has the most wins as a Yankee starter (236) and most strikeouts as a Yankee (1,956). Putting the captain 7th on the list is no slight to him, for this list is comprised of elite company that few players can ever hope to measure up to.
With every generation of baseball fans, there seems to be a different Yankee that captures the hearts of New York through great play. My generation has been lucky enough to see two of them grow up along with us, and one of them is Derek Jeter.
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