Derek Jeter

So this is Derek Jeter's last weekend of professional baseball as a player. He may be back as a manager, coach, or commentator, but he is ending his career as a professional player. Very sad, especially for NYY fans. Of course we will get to hear the Yankee fans regale us with the many Jeter tales of glory days gone by, which is typical, as they can never shut up about the "tradition."

I had a Yankee fan state the other day that #2 of the Yankees was the most respected player of all time, he quickly corrected himself, and restated he was the most respected player of the last 20 years. Really? Someone needs to take off their Yankee tinted glasses and look around baseball.

Did Jeter play the game right? Yes, he was a class act surrounded by Yankees. Was he fun to watch? Yes, again. He did a lot of things that should be done more often in professional sports like, spending entire career with one team, playing for the love of the game, being an ambassador of the game. But we as fans of the game, can all probably come up with a long list of players that have similar qualities.

I believe that part of Jeter's idolization and placement upon a pedestal is where he played. So let's play the "what if" game.

• What if Jeter played his entire career with another team? Maybe a small market team like the KC Royals? 
• Would he be the same player?
• Would he have even stayed with the team his entire career?
• Would he have had the same career stats?
• Would he have had the same All-Star appearances? The championships? The ladies?

Did Jeter make the Yankees? Or did the Yankees make Jeter? The Yankees had a lot of success with Jeter and he helped in that success, there is no denying that. But he was not a one man show playing on Broadway.

Now let us all take off those Yankee tinted glasses and look at who I think are some of the most respected players in the last 20 years of baseball, and you can develop your own ranking. These are mine in no particular order...well I am going to list my leading candidate first. Ken Griffey, Jr., and then the rest, Greg Maddox, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Tony Gwynn, Paul Molitor, Edgar Martinez, Kirby Puckett, and Bernie Williams. Lets look at just shortstops that played during this time, with Cal Ripken, Ozzie Smith, and Omar Vizquel. And then there is Jeter's other teammate, Mariano Rivera.

So there you have it, respect, but not the most respected in the last 20 years. Is he on the list? Sure why not. Is he #1or #2? (Yes, I know he wears #2) Probably not.

[See, I did not even bring up the fact, that I think he did steroids, and the evidence that his late career injuries are indicative of athletes that have used steroids and growth hormones, and just happened to occur after his teammate was outed for use. Nope I am not going there.]