Derek Jeter

I’m not the biggest Derek Jeter fan, I’ll be honest. I think his pride hurts him at times — perhaps he tries too hard to fit into the “Yankee mold,” so to speak. He’s certainly not a power hitter, and he’s certainly not the best defensively. But put that aside, and how can you not be impressed by the guy? Sure, many view him as being overrated, but anyone making that type of money is going to be deemed overrated.

Derek is on the threshold of reaching a rather significant milestone — 2,500 hits. He had 3 hits last night against Toronto, which put him at 2,498 hits. Derek needs 2 hits to reach 2,500. If he doesn’t do it tonight, then perhaps tomorrow (Friday) night in Baltimore.

Take a look at the all-time hit list below, and look how many at-bats, and seasons, it took for the players around him to accomplish that level.

All Time Career Hits Leaders

Derek Jeter even has the capability to crack into the top 5, too. He averages just over 200 hits per season. Lets just say Jeter, who is 34 years old, can, and wants to, play for another ten years. Lets also say he can continue putting up similar hit numbers. That’s an additional 2000 hits — putting him at 4,498. 4,498 is about 200 more hits than the current leader, Pete Rose.

Now, of course, Derek is getting older. I’m sure his numbers are going to dip, but even so, he has the potential to definitely make his way into the top 5 of all time. How incredible is that? Imagine if he stays healthy and his age doesn’t decrease his numbers dramatically? We’re witnessing incredible history here.

And without going into too much about Alex Rodriguez, he’s going to be in the running to pass Barry Bonds in the all time career home run total, too. How amazing is it going to be for us fans to witness possibly two great records be broken by two players on possibly the same team?

Update: Derek Jeter is now at 2,499 career hits.

New York Yankees first baseman/designated hitter, Jason Giambi, wears a gold thong whenever he’s slumping.  And for Jason, he’s been slumping for a very long time now.

Jason lends it out from time to time to other players who are slumping.  Both Jeter and Damon confirmed that they’ve have donned the gold thong a few times.

“I had it over my shorts and stuff, I was 0-for-32 and I hit a homer on the first pitch. That’s the only time I’ve ever worn it,” Jeter stated.

Damon stated he might need to wear it soon, as he’s currently batting a mediocre .255.  Damon was able to shed some light on the thought process of wearing the thong to get over a slump.

“You’re not worrying about your hands or your balance at the plate; you’re worried about the uncomfortable feeling you’re receiving,” Damon said.

Update: It turns out this was a rehashed interview and article from several years ago.  Some reporter dug it up, wrote a new article off of it, and then the rest of the media jumped on it.  Looks like I fell for it, as well.  Must have been a slow news day for that reporter.

There was a good article that captured a Manny Ramirez that the media, and public, don’t typically see.  “Manny being Manny” is usually shoved down our throats — a self-absorbed asshole that only cares about himself.  A quick interview and a day later, you see a different side of Manny. 

After all this is over, all I want is for my kids to go to college and to be their best friend.  That’s all I want. I don’t care about home runs or whatever.