So, I'm in the minority, and I know it. I don't like Derek Jeter. Yet, I'll be honest, I had mixed feelings when I heard that he announced that he'll retire after the 2014 season. Here's what I'll concede: Jeter is one of the top shortstops to have played in the Major Leagues over the past 20 years. Jeter is an asset for the New York Yankees - whether it be statistically proven or merely "intangibly". Jeter is destined for the Hall of Fame. Now, here's where I disagree with the common baseball fan: Derek Jeter is not one of the 10 or 20 greatest players in the history of the game of baseball. Derek Jeter is not the greatest shortstop to play between 1996 and today. Derek Jeter is not responsible for 5 World Series titles.
That all said, here's why I'm happy about his announcement. Needless to say, I will not lose any sleep, nor will I shed a tear when Derek Jeter leaves the field for the final time in 2014. I will not miss him, nor will I miss his sense of entitlement that comes with being the captain of the Yankees. I will be happy in a few years, when all the talk about Jeter subsides. Granted, the next conversations will be about who replaces Jeter at short for the Yankees, who replaces Jeter as the face of the Yankees, and most "importantly" who replaces him as the ambassador for Major League Baseball. After those questions go away, the big conversation is whether he will be MLB's first ever unanimous Hall of Famer. Let's put that to rest. No, he will not. He's no more a Hall of Famer than Greg Maddux, no more than Tom Glavine, and as I mentioned before, he's not even the best player at his position who played during his career. But, on a less biased level, I'm glad that he's decided to leave before he disgraces himself, his team, and the league by staying around past his usefulness. I just hope, purely from a baseball standpoint, that he can stick to his decision, and that this year plays out healthily, and moderately (not too) successfully. No, that's not a jab at Jeter. I just think if he can put up a .330, 25 HR, 20 SB, 80 RBI, 100R season, he might reconsider his retirement. I want him to have the conviction that someone of his stature should. The other thing that, as a Red Sox fan, I enjoy about this decision is that this announcement will exemplify the situation that the Yankees are in. I read today, and I can't remember where, that Jeter's heir apparent is not currently in the New York Yankees' system. They need a fix, and, perhaps, this will open their eyes.
So, I'm clearly anti-Jeter, anti-Yankees, you might say at this point. What would I possibly be upset by about Jeter's retirement? Well, I briefly touched on this earlier. This is going to open a season-long love fest for a player who I could live without. I wasn't a big fan of the Rivera farewell tour last year, and I have nothing against Mariano Rivera, and can agree with the argument that he's at least one of the two best closers of all time. My biggest beef comes with the way in which the Captain announced this - Facebook. I won't get into why I'm not a fan of, or even on, it. I just think that, despite the day in age that we live, it is lazy, and classless to make an impactful announcement like this on Facebook. I also look at this announcement as a plea for attention. Now, I've been told by Yankee fans that this is not the case, but Jeter's human, and he saw the lovefest that Rivera received last year. He knows that he's one of the more popular players in the league, and that he's got his coming. The announcing that he's retiring at the end of this season is a not so subtle cry for attention. He could have waited until September to announce it, or at least make the announcement at the All-Star game, that he's now a lock to start - even if he breaks every bone in his body in spring training and another AL shortstop has 50 HR and 100 RBI by July.
