As our guy friends, boyfriends and brothers view New York Yankee, Derek Jeter, as the “Babe Ruth” of modern day Major League Baseball, we girls know him simply as a babe. This means his retirement is hitting us all pretty hard. I mean, watching Derek Jeter walk out to his short stop position in baseball pants was every girl’s dream come true, but sadly we are having to say so long to those iconic pinstriped pants and his number 2 jersey.
I know that a lot of girls out there have no clue what the fundamentals and rules of baseball are. In fact, just yesterday I was talking to one of my friends who thought baseball games have halftime breaks. I slowly cringed hearing her say those words seeing as how I was raised to live, breathe and love baseball. But a little rule of thumb I’ve learned over the years is that guys love a girl who knows their sports — baseball is America’s favorite pastime after all! So, I would personally recommend remembering a few of Jeter’s stats and rattle them off next time you sit by the baseball-loving hottie in class. For the sporty baseball babes, please continue on; for the rest of you guys, I say this kindly, but please proceed with caution.
Jeter is looked at as a superstar, which is only right with his impressive stats that he has accumulated throughout his 20 seasons. He even has five World Series championships under his belt, thus making him one of the most popular players in the MLB. This comes with good reason, as he leads the Yankees in career hits, stolen bases and has a career batting average of .310. He has hit 260 homeruns throughout his career and over 1000 RBI’S (runners batted in). At the age of 40, Jeter announced his retirement over Facebook and, while at a press conference, stated his reasoning for retiring from his MLB career as, “I just felt like this was the right time. Parts of 20 seasons I’ve played in New York and 23 counting the Minor Leagues. So I think I’ve done it long enough. I’m looking forward to doing other things in my life. This is a difficult job. I put everything into it each and every year. It’s not a six-month season. It’s 12 months. Again, I’m looking forward to other things. Not yet. But the idea of doing other things is what I’m looking forward to.” Jeter’s plans after this season remain unclear, but he is planning on staying heavily involved in his nonprofit organization Turn 2.
Turn 2 is used to advocate for kids to “turn” away from drugs and “to” a healthy lifestyle by providing positive outlets for them to “turn to.” He has also eluded to starting a family perhaps with his now model girlfriend Hannah Davis. Jeter has always been known as one of New York’s hottest bachelors, with his list of girlfriends running very long. Some of the most famous being: singer Mariah Carey, actresses Vanessa Millino, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Minka Kelly and Scarlett Johansson and Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima. Sadly many of us have not made the list, but to be fair he has yet to wed, so there is still some hope us. Fingers crossed, girls!
Jeter’s final home game was played on Thursday, September 25, 2014 at Yankees Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles. It ended magically, with Jeter hitting a walk off single. During a tied game, 5 to 5 in the bottom of the 9th inning, with a runner on second base, Jeter stroked the first pitch, sending it in a line drive to right field, knocking in the runner on second base. The Yankees won 6 to 5, while allowed Jeter to walk out of Yankee Stadium a legend. The Yankees hit the road for their next three games playing their rivals, the Boston Red Socks. There, Jeter will play in his final game.
Photos courtesy of bunow.com