Derek Jeter, A Baseball Hero

I knew he would get a hit, I knew exactly where the ball was going to go through the infield, I was just hoping the runner wouldn't get thrown out. Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth. And there it was...Base hit to right field...here comes the throw to home plate...he scores! DEREK JETER WINS IT FOR THE YANKEES IN HIS LAST AB AT YANKEE STADIUM! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! BALL GAME OVER. YANKEES WIN! THE-A-A-A-A-A-A YANKEES WIN!

Unbelievable. My memories from 1996 watching the Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves to win the World Series was the year that started a run of Derek Jeter led championship teams and being a proud New York Yankees baseball fan. It was Yankees pride. And to watch the final star of that 1996 team shine bright in his last game at Yankee stadium was awesome.

I always liked Derek Jeter. He was the center piece of all those great Yankee teams of the last 18 years. He wasn’t my hero early on, because I was young and he wasn’t the best player. I came to understand how he stood for more than just talent. And as talented as he was, he wasn’t the most talented ball player out there. But he had those intangibles that drew people to him. He played hard. He respected everyone out there and he respected the game. As he played on, or maybe as I got older, my appreciation for Jeter grew. Derek Jeter ended up being one of the classiest players of his day and age.

People argue that sports figures should not be the role models for youth today. But inevitably they are. Derek Jeter agreed with this. He understood that even though baseball players were just ordinary men, that kids looked up to them. He felt that there was an obligation to be a role model whether he wanted to be or not. And he definitely did not think that a baseball player was any sort of hero. Heroes are made of men and women who fight for our freedom and who sacrifice of themselves for the benefit of others. But in fact, a baseball player can be a hero. A hero of determination, success, and respectability.

Derek Sanderson Jeter was born in July, 1974. When he was five years old he began to dream of playing shortstop for the New York Yankees. He developed a passion for the game. His passion drove him towards success. Not only did Derek Jeter fulfill his childhood dream of being a New York Yankees shortstop, and not only will he be a first ballot Hall of Fame baseball player as one of the greatest shortstops in major league baseball history, he will be remembered and respected as one of the greatest role models baseball has ever known. His story allows kids to dream as big as he did. He was given a gift that was a combination of talent, passion, and respectability. He worked hard at honing his gift to become a star. He was a role model not only for younger kids, but for other major league ballplayers. That is the kind of respect he had.

As Derek Jeter says good bye to baseball, so do we say goodbye to a hero.

Enjoy Life.

 

Coach Randal Suozzo, CPC, ELI-MP

www.coachsuozzo.com
www.facebook.com/PassionDiscoveryCoaching