Dear Derek Jeter,
3,316 hits
10,614 at-bats
256 home runs
1,261 RBIs
This is your record, your career on paper. But this is not the only thing you will be remembered for.
While some may say that you are the baseball player of our time, or even the MVP of all time, I have come to believe that you are more than that. You are a driving force of change, an individual that has impacted much more than just a single baseball team. You singlehandedly have changed the face of not only America’s past time, but what it means to be a sports star.
I can remember my very first Yankee game, the first time I ever had the honor of chanting “Jeter”, screaming on the top of my lungs for a little speck on the field up at home plate. At the time, I didn’t know why, but the excitement and unity of an entire rumbling stadium was enough to encourage me to join along. Years later, and many Yankee games later, I realized why everyone was screaming for you. They are screaming for the hope you give us fans when we are at the bottom, the pride you give us to be wearing those blue and white striped jerseys, and the inspiration you give each and everyone in that crowd to find something worth fighting for.
I remember when I started playing baseball as a little girl- the disappointment I felt when I realized my team name wasn’t the Yankees, or the lack of #2 on my back. The drive I felt to smash the ball, to throw my hardest, and to be the shortstop; all was in part because of you. From a young age, I was taught by my father to like the Yankees, but now, I realize that there is no other team I’d rather call myself a fan of. You have created this legacy of kids, now older, who know exactly what they want to be when they grow up, and have instilled in the older generations a true reminder of what baseball players should be. Even more than that- what sportsmen should be. The gratitude and gracefulness you show on and off the field is unimaginable, a great presence that many wish to emulate, but will never achieve. Through all trials and tribulations, you have remained a true gentleman to the core, and a true lover of baseball, and your team. As the many greats before you, you have shaped a generation. More so, you have shaped me. That same rush you feel right when you enter the stadium, the excitement and rumbling of the stands when Derek Jeter sets foot on the field, that is something I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life.
Thank you, Derek Jeter, for creating a childhood I will never forget. Thank you, Derek Jeter, for inspiring me, and finally thank you Derek Jeter, for being the greatest baseball player of my generation.
For the back of your jersey may read #2, but you will always be our #1.
Sincerely,
A Proud Yankee Fan