Derek Jeter Is A Legend, Don't Doubt It!

Ed Betz/AP

The one thing I can say for certain is that it's
real hard to admit or give someone credit for
being a legend in your lifetime when you root
against them, or hate them. As loved as Derek
Jeter is, and as many people root for him, he
is also quite despised and hated by the enemy
fans and those that root against him. I have
without question rooted against him, and though
I don't hate him, nor have I, I have hated how
good he is against the team or teams I root for
sometimes.

The New York Yankees have TWENTY SEVEN World
Series titles to their credit, something they
are very quick to tell you, and some of the
most legendary names ever to play the game have
had entire careers with them. I don't mean
guys like Reggie Jackson who had a great career
in Oakland before becoming an Oriole and then a
Yankee, or A-Rod who made his name in Seattle
long before he took Tom Hicks for a ride in
Texas. I mean Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Mickey
Mantle, Yogi Berra, etc., etc. And with all
those stars on that list, not a one ever had
3,000 hits before Derek Jeter, NO ONE.

Derek Jeter was drafted with the sixth pick in
the 1992 baseball draft, and if you look at the
names that were drafted ahead of him, you'd be
hard pressed to know who they were unless you
googled them.
1. Phil Nevindagger (Houston Astros)
2. Paul Shuey (Cleveland Indians)
3. B. J. Wallace (Montreal Expos)
4. Jeffrey Hammondsdagger (Baltimore Orioles)
5. Chad Mottola (Cincinnati Reds)
All were college players, Jeter was drafted
straight out of high school.

A lifetime .314 hitter who has been written off
more than once, and yes by Yankees fans too,
more often than anyone of his talents should be.
Though his 255 home runs and 1250 runs batted in
so far, don't blow you away, his consistency has
too. It seems like only yesterday that he got
his 3,000th hit, with a home run, and with
typical Jeter flair he became only the second
player in baseball history to do it that way,
the other was Wade Boggs, and now he now has
3,286 and counting.

There are so many Derek Jeter stats and moments
I could throw at you, but if you still need any
convincing, just watch him play, before you miss
what it's like to see a true legend playing in
your lifetime.


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