Derek Jeter is the Greatest Yankee of All Time 22 hours ago by Lucas Thomas The votes are in, everything has been tallied, and in convincing fashion the Exiles have voted that Derek Jeter is the Greatest Yankee to ever wear the Pinstripes. Jeter finished off his run through a gauntlet of Yankee legends, culminating in his victory yesterday in the championship round as he knocked off Babe Ruth with greater than 60% of the total vote. The championship round was a surprise. Many people were outraged when Jeter knocked off Lou Gehrig, and I’m sure even more so today with the news that Jeter edged out the legendary Babe Ruth to earn the title. Just to dispel any conspiracy theories, after someone stacked the ballot with Phil Rizzuto votes, we went in and corrected the error, disabling double voting to prevent ballot stuffing. So for those people on facebook saying that this contest was fixed, au contraire–we did all we could to make this an even contest. The Exiles voted Derek Jeter the winner… …how he got there is pretty obvious. It’s clear that Derek Jeter benefited from the era in which he played. For most living Yankee fans–including myself–he’s the greatest Yankee we ever got the chance to see play. While it can be said that being the most recent Yankee legend certainly aided Jeter’s quest, his victory doesn’t mean Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Ruth himself aren’t as deserving or equally important to the Yankee franchise as Jeter. We all know they are. Art by Jiang ZinzhongArt by Jiang Zinzhong Now onto why Jeter is undeniably worthy of this honor. As fans, and human beings, the natural human instinct is inclined to resist change. When that change pertains to traditions and long-standing fundamental truths, it’s ten fold. A lot of people will always be unwilling to accept the fact that any player will ever match what Babe Ruth accomplished. They say this not because they witnessed the Babe’s greatness, in fact they say this because of the exact opposite. They say this because of the obligation they feel to past generations which have sacrificed their own greats in the name of Ruth’s lore. After Lou Gehrig’s brilliant 17-year career, how many people were shouted down by Ruth purists when they proclaimed the Iron Horse the greatest ball player they’d ever seen? What about when Joltin’ Joe and The Mick came along and built their own legacy of shattered records and career milestones, only for their career accomplishments to be relegated to a second tier underneath The Babe? The downside of recognizing something sacred is that it sometimes doesn’t allow us to fully appreciate the brilliance of what we have actually experienced, or witnessed, or felt. Consider this, if Jeter accomplished everything he has accomplished in his career–a five time World Champion, the Yankees’ all time career leader in hits and games played, as well as MLB’s career post season leader in virtually every major offensive statistic–but did it in the 1930s, would we be saying the same things that some people will inevitably be saying in Ruth’s defense? Would we be talking about Jeter’s legacy as unsurpassable in the same manner we do Ruth’s, and Gehrig’s? I think the answer to both of those questions is yes. Art by Derek WehrweinArt by Derek Wehrwein There’s the “flip play” and Mr. November. There’s July 9, 2011–perhaps one of Jeter’s greatest performances, a game in which he became the first Yankee to reach 3,000 hits (only the second in MLB history to reach the milestone with a home run) in a 5-for-5 day at the plate that included the game winning RBI single. There’s the five world championships and the dynasty that he was more responsible for creating than any other single player. There’s Jeter’s longevity through nearly 20 years (two decades!) of service to the only team he ever dreamed of playing for. As close to a “chosen one” as there comes, Jeter literally envisioned becoming the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees while he was playing in the backyard as a kid, and now he’ll eventually retire as one of the all time faces of the franchise. This all sounds like the stuff of legend if you ask me. There is no shame in leaving the past for the sake of recognizing the beauty of the present. Debate and discussion will surely ensue, but don’t lose sight of the fact that even if you disagree with the results, Derek Jeter belongs right alongside anyone other name when discussing who the greatest player to ever don the Pinstripes is. I want to say again for the third time, just because I almost need to convince myself that I’m not being blasphemous, that I am in no way trying to marginalize the accomplishments of the Yankee legends that Jeter beat out in this tournament. Instead, it’s an effort to celebrate the career that we’ve all had the privilege of seeing unfold right before our very eyes. It’s a career that will go down as one of the greatest in Yankee history. Correction…the greatest in Yankee history. It’s been an absolute joy watching The Captain play baseball. And to celebrate Jeter’s win, our friends at Bark tees NY are offering Exiles 10% off their cool Jeter tee (the discount code is “Exile”…it actually will work for all their tees but the Jeter one is what we like…although the Thurman Munson one is pretty awesome, too…a damn good captain himself). The people have spoken
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 21:25:24 +0000