Mr. 3000

Welcome back, this has been another wild week in the world of sports. The main topic of this weeks blog will be Derek Jeter and his journey to 3000 hits. As people who know me can tell you, the Yankees are not a team that I generally cheer for and in early October of 2003 they were the bane of my existence, but Derek Jeter is different. So this blog is dedicated to him and his career.

May 30th, 1995. I was 7 years old, Bill Clinton was the President, Shaq and the Magic battled Hakeem and the Rockets in the NBA Finals, and Derek Jeter recorded his first hit in the Major Leagues. It happened in Seattle against the Mariners when Jeter was only 20 years old. While most 20 year old young men are finishing up their sophomore year of college or maybe getting a raise for their second year at a job, Jeter had blazed through the minor leagues and was the number 9 hitter for the New York Yankees. Not to say that everything was easy for Jeter early on. His first year was mired in controversy as he hit a paltry .210 and then followed it up the next year by making 56, yes 56, errors. The Yankees were patient with Jeter though and he quickly became a cornerstone of the franchise.

In September of 2000, Jeter recorded his 1000th hit, a third of the way to the 3000 hit milestone. At this point in his career Jeter had already won the World Series 3 times and was on his way to a fourth. At the time it was a four horse race for the title of "Best Shortstop in the American League". If you remember, in addition to Jeter, there was also Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, and Alex Rodriguez vying for the title. At the time Nomar was probably the best all around hitter of the four, while Rodriguez had the most power, and Tejada the best glove. But Jeter had something that the other three would have traded everything for, rings. Another player may have ended up being a case of the too much too soon trap (something I'll go into detail about further down the page), but Jeter has always showed wisdom and class beyond his years.

Jeter's 3000th hit came on a day that was perfect for him. He went five for five including the game winning homerun. He is one of only two players to ever have their 3000th hit be a homerun. As luck would have it for Jeter, the fan who caught the ball had the class to match Jeter. Most fans would have auctioned the ball off to the highest bidder or held the Yankees up for as much money as they could get, but the 24 year old cell phone salesman that caught it asked for nothing. He gave Jeter the ball because, as he said "Jeter deserved it". The Yankees appreciated the fans gesture and rewarded him with multiple autographed bats and jerseys, as well as tickets to every game for the rest of the year. Truly the perfect ending to the quest for 3000.

Let's take Jeter and compare him to someone else who got too much too soon, Lebron James. While Jeter was able to win championships early in his career, James was able to make more money than he could have ever imagined while becoming a polarizing figure for the NBA. They both were excellent candidates for the too much too soon trap, but Jeter was surrounded by older veterans who he could talk to and get advice from, men like Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, and Wade Boggs. Lebron was brought onto a team with Ricky Davis, Jeff McInnis, and Darius Miles, not exactly the group of players you want around your 18 year old star rookie. Not to make excuses for Lebron, but maybe that's why he never seemed to mature. Imagine if he had gone second in his draft and gotten to grow up on a team with Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, and Ben Wallace, needless to say things may have gone a little differently for him. Some of the greatest talents in all walks of life have suffered from the too much too soon trap, including Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Vince Carter, and three quarters of the number 1 draft picks in NFL history. Thankfully Derek Jeter wasn't one of these cases.

The most impressive part of Derek Jeter's career isn't that he's gotten to 3000 hits, it's the way that he's done it. He is one of the few players in any sport that can claim no off field issues, he's never been arrested, cheated on his spouse, ripped teammates in the press, or embarrassed his team in any way. Much like Peyton Manning in football, there is just no good reason to hate the man, no matter what team he plays for. So congratulations Derek, even Red Sox fans are happy for you.....even if most of them won't admit it.

Now I need to go take a shower because saying so much good stuff about a Yankee has made me feel dirty. Thanks for reading, and remember to check out my past entries and follow me on twitter: @joshviola19.