This will be Derek Jeter's final season

[terrynever]

 
I'll miss Jeter; my enduring memory will be of him leading the applause from the visitor's dugout on Opening Day 2005. A worthy competitor and deserving Hall of Famer.

It's good when a fan can be objective like this and give credit to a hated enemy. I will feel the same way when Ortiz walks away. Certain players transcend the fan hatred. On Boston in my lifetime, it's a long list, beginning with Ted and Yaz and Dewey and Rice, among others. Lately, guys like Lester and Ortiz stand above the madness. I think on the Yankees there are a few, too, but less and less as the old corps fades away.
As bad as Derek was in the field of late, he was nowhere near as gimpy as Mantle from 1964 on.

 

[DanoooME]

This means there's no way he gets moved out of SS this year, then. If he was trying to play a few more years it might be worth it for him, but no way will be lose the chance to be a SS his entire career during the final season. Which is good news for everyone who doesn't like the Yankees. 

 
 

 
Well, the whiplash of losing Jeter and having A-Rod return will make 2015 excruciating for Yankee fans. 
 
I think any ceremony honoring Jeter should include at least 5 A-Rod references: "2nd best shortstop on the Yankees since 2004."  That sort of thing. 

 
I think it's perfect timing.  Jeter leaves after this season and A-Rod slides neatly into his spot in 2015, finally claiming the SS position he's felt he deserved since he arrived in NY.  And it's not like the Yankees aren't used to having a terrible defensive SS with a declining bat.

 

[ifmanis5]

Red Sox gag gifts for Jeter would make a nice P&G thread. A night with Elizabeth Warren, no strings attached?

 

[Average Reds]

Stephen Drew's job prospects just got noticeably brighter.

 
This was my first thought upon hearing the announcement.  4 years, $50 million or so.
 
Unless they want to wait for Hanley.  But I wouldn't think they'll want to go an entire year with just Jeter, since he's not a strong bet to play more than half the games in the field this year.  (If that.)

 

[Average Reds]

I just had another terrible thought.  How am I supposed to watch any game on YES this year?  Kay will be extra insufferable. 

 
That's like saying an uncontrolled radiation leak is "extra bad for you." 
 
About the least insufferable thing Kay has done in the last decade was to throw a diet coke bottle away...

 

[TheYaz67]

 
How dare he steal Bud Selig's Departure Thunder!!

 
Are you kidding me - if Bud is smart, he will join Jeter's farewell tour - that way the boos and cheers will somewhat even each other out....

 

[EvilEmpire]

Just like Jeter to upstage the Olympics.  Selfish asshole.

 

[someoneanywhere]

The MFY last regular home game is against the O's on 9/25. IMO thats his last game, unless the MFY's are still in contention. 

No. If he's healthy, he will play. The situation with Rivera is a different one, in part because he's a pitcher. For the everyday guys, the thing is to go to the post. He'll be out there unless he's hurt.

 

[terrynever]

MLB Network all over this. One-hour special on tap later today. Good viewing for Curt as he recovers from surgery!

 

[mt8thsw9th]

And then he goes off to St. Jetersburg and gets married, which is good because he was starting to worry me a little.

 
What's the worry you have about him not being married?

 

[RedOctober3829]

This obviously paves the way for A-Rod to finally play SS in 2015.

 

[ivanvamp]

I hope he has a phenomenal season, forcing everyone in the Yankee organization to be left hanging with respect to his future, and they go 60-102, finishing 40 games behind Boston.

 

[terrynever]

 
What's the worry you have about him not being married?

That he was foregoing the chance to have a family in order to focus solely on his job. Sorry to disappoint you.

 

[E5 Yaz]

And thus begins the drumbeat to make Jeter the first unanimous Hall of Famer

 

[mabrowndog]

Just like Jeter to upstage the Olympics.  Selfish asshole.

 
Considering the American favorites are getting their asses kicked all over Sochi this week, the USOC probably goaded him into it to distract us.

 

[mt8thsw9th]

That he was foregoing the chance to have a family in order to focus solely on his job. Sorry to disappoint you.

 
Or he was having fun while he could, and not having kids when he couldn't devote much time to them.
 
There's no disappointment, there just seemed to be an implication there that I just thought was worth expanding upon.

 

[SawxSince67]

Michael Kay's awkward silence after the Captain's (increasingly) less agile moments will be worth it.

 

[brs3]

Over / Under of games played in 2014? I say 70. most of April, some May, some September/Oct. His body just isn't going to recover from the ankle issues, and he knows it.

 

[terrynever]

 
Or he was having fun while he could, and not having kids when he couldn't devote much time to them.
 
There's no disappointment, there just seemed to be an implication there that I just thought was worth expanding upon.

I just felt he was depriving himself of a chance to be happier. The type of social life he led, though he kept it under control, was kind of shallow, IMO. It was like he was working for one of those Hollywood talent agencies. Date this starlet and help her advance her career. I've always kept Brady and Jeter in a similar place in terms of respect and how they handled themselves in public. Brady settled down sooner and it didn't seem to hurt his career.
What I think doesn't matter at all, of course. I hope he's happier in retirement than Joe D was. Or Mantle. It's not a slam-dunk for these guys when they quit the game. What do they replace the excitement with?

 

[ifmanis5]

Jeter now, Kobe soon.

 

[mabrowndog]

Timing is interesting. His body must be telling him something even now. I doubt he will do the Mariano tour. That's not his style. Jeter-haters may find this hard to believe but the guy doesn't seek the spotlight.

 
Then what other possible reason is there for him to announce this on February 12? Regardless of what his body might be telling him, why make this public knowledge, and why do it now? Why not do what Larry Bird did and just abruptly tell the press "That's it, I'm done." once the season ends?
 
Instead he's pulling a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and THAT was easily the most nauseating sports farewell tour of the last 40 years. You could see the disdain in Red Auerbach's eyes when they presented that phony whining fuck with a framed piece of the Garden parquet along with various other trinkets.
 
Or is Jeter just doing George's kids a "solid" to help them sell more $4,375 front row tickets?
 

Hopefully it will be a rainout and they won't need to make up the game.

 
I'd rather the Sox go ahead and give him the obnoxious Drooling Dentist ceremony, and then go out and clinch the division/best record in AL with the final out. The images of him in the dugout afterward would be delicious.
 

I can't see the Yankees getting in a bidding war for Hanley.

 
Plus Hanley just said he wants to be a Dodger for life. Cha-ching!
 

Can we buy him flying lessons for his retirement.

 
Outstanding.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

I just felt he was depriving himself of a chance to be happier. The type of social life he led, though he kept it under control, was kind of shallow, IMO. It was like he was working for one of those Hollywood talent agencies. Date this starlet and help her advance her career. I've always kept Brady and Jeter in a similar place in terms of respect and how they handled themselves in public. Brady settled down sooner and it didn't seem to hurt his career.
What I think doesn't matter at all, of course. I hope he's happier in retirement than Joe D was. Or Mantle. It's not a slam-dunk for these guys when they quit the game. What do they replace the excitement with?

 
Ted too.
 
I get the sense none of us really knew Jeter much at all. He was pretty guarded about his personal life.

 

[terrynever]

 
Then what other possible reason is there for him to announce this on February 12? Regardless of what his body might be telling him, why make this public knowledge, and why do it now? Why not do what Larry Bird did and just abruptly tell the press "That's it, I'm done." once the season ends?
 

Because, as Tom Verducci just said on MLB, by announcing he's retiring at end of season, he doesn't have to hear that question in every city.
You guys blame retiring athletes for creating the hype tours but the real problem is the media that won't let this stuff go. Do you think Jeter wants to be in the middle of a media storm all season? Do you think guys like Papi are thrilled to see 40 media members with all their equipment in the clubhouse every day? That's just the nature of the beast in our 24/7 media world.
It was a lot easier to quit in the old days, back when newspapers were king and each town had maybe four TV stations. Ted got hounded a lot in 1959 when he had a bad season. But that was just criticism from scribes who resented him.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

 
Well, the whiplash of losing Jeter and having A-Rod return will make 2015 excruciating for Yankee fans. 

 
It's going to be great when A-Rod officially announces his plan to return to the Yankees with a statement released in the middle of Jeter's last game at the Toilet.

 

[The Napkin]

I want to see the Sox blow up and frame this picture from 2004 as his parting gift:
 
 

 
Or this one

 

[StuckOnYouk]

Terry come on now, he's doing this because he wants what Mo just got. And I'm not blaming him for it, Mo was treated well and the last moment where he was taken from the mound was very emotional and a great final moment for NY fans. Jeter wants what Mo just got. It's not about waiving a simple question away at every city. 

 

[8slim]

I find it most likely that he'll be on the DL by the time we get to that last series in Fenway.  Given all his injuries last year and the fact that he's 40 it certainly would be no surprise if he breaks down over the summer and that's that.

 

[The Napkin]

Because, as Tom Verducci just said on MLB, by announcing he's retiring at end of season, he doesn't have to hear that question in every city.
You guys blame retiring athletes for creating the hype tours but the real problem is the media that won't let this stuff go. Do you think Jeter wants to be in the middle of a media storm all season? Do you think guys like Papi are thrilled to see 40 media members with all their equipment in the clubhouse every day? That's just the nature of the beast in our 24/7 media world.
It was a lot easier to quit in the old days, back when newspapers were king and each town had maybe four TV stations. Ted got hounded a lot in 1959 when he had a bad season. But that was just criticism from scribes who resented him.

You don't think that by announcing his retirement he's creating a bigger media storm every time he steps foot in a new ballpark? For reals?
 
No announcement: "What are your thoughts about retiring" "I'll think about it after the year, I'm focused on the season right now." Done.
 
Announcement: countless ceremonies, Countless questions about a farewell tour, countless looking back on career questions.

 

[Rudi Fingers]

I hope this is another Pettitte retirement and he keeps coming back and forcing the Yankees to play him and pay him.

 
It would be as if Jeter never (went to his) left

 

[bankshot1]

He's entitled to script his farewell. I assume he knows its time to bow out, and he's announcing it now, will deal with questions in ST, and if he breaks down/sucks in '14, he will miss the worst of the criticisms of an athlete who didn't know it was past his time. 

 

[Harry Hooper]

If the Yankees are playing out the string he might just sit out the last 3 games at Fenway. They finish their home schedule on 9/25 and go to Boston on 9/26-9/28

 
A reverse-Ted maneuver! May the Yanks also finish 32 games out of 1st place.
 
 
I love the idea of Jeter leaving, and Rodriguez returning, in 2015.

 

[EvilEmpire]

Different kind of media attention.  The kind that MLB likes and that teams like because it puts extra fans in seats.  I can understand Jeter preferring that kind of attention than the kind that comes over the course of the season when he maybe isn't playing so well or is injured again or whatever.  I doubt he wants to hear about all the "is Jeter washed up" speculation in the NY media every time he hits a rough patch.
 
It also helps the team by removing some ambiguity.  There are lots of reasons to like what he did.
 
 
edit:  bankshot1 beat me to it; typo

 

[terrynever]

Different kind of media attention.  The kind that MLB likes and that teams like because it puts extra fans in seats.  I can understand Jeter preferring that kind of attention than the kind that comes over the course of the season when he maybe isn't playing so well or is injured again or whatever.  I doubt he want to hear about all the "is Jeter washed up" speculation in the NY media every time he hits a rough patch.
 
It also helps the team by removing some ambiguity.  There are lots of reasons to like what he did.
 
 
edit:  bankshot1 beat me to it

Well stated, EE. This speaks to the clarity of today's announcement. It eliminates the speculation, stops the questions. And if he actually plays well this season, maybe he does so because the pressure is off and he can just enjoy one last ride around the league.

 

[SaveBooFerriss]

 
 
I love the idea of Jeter leaving, and Rodriguez returning, in 2015.

 
Maybe Arod can play SS in 2015.   

 

[Hendu for Kutch]

I'd like to see the Red Sox present him with a commissioned piece of art commemorating his trademark fist pump as he crosses home plate.  And then another one commemorating his trip back to 2nd base after A-Rod was called out.

 

[AbbyNoho]

The Jeter-bashing in this thread is fun because it's Jeter-bashing, but some of you are being a bit silly if your comments aren't intended to be somewhat in jest. I don't think there is a way for him to announce his retirement that wouldn't lead to critcism. And it's not like the guy isn't a good player. Let him have his final moments as a star, I say. Product of his environment in New York or not, he still achieved what he achieved. Good for him.
 
Anyway, resume the winer cooler shenanigans.
 
 

I'd like to see the Red Sox present him with a commissioned piece of art commemorating his trademark fist pump as he crosses home plate.  And then another one commemorating his trip back to 2nd base after A-Rod was called out.

 
First, wasn't it? It ended up being worse for the Yankees than if A-Rod had just grounded out like normal.

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

The MFY last regular home game is against the O's on 9/25. IMO thats his last game, unless the MFY's are still in contention. 

Cheapest on Stubhub are O/V bleachers at $300 each.  General public on-sale is this Sat. at noon.

 

[soxfan121]

Different kind of media attention.  The kind that MLB likes and that teams like because it puts extra fans in seats.  I can understand Jeter preferring that kind of attention than the kind that comes over the course of the season when he maybe isn't playing so well or is injured again or whatever.  I doubt he wants to hear about all the "is Jeter washed up" speculation in the NY media every time he hits a rough patch.
 
It also helps the team by removing some ambiguity.  There are lots of reasons to like what he did.
 
 
edit:  bankshot1 beat me to it; typo

 
BINGO. The Steinbrenners know how many tickets have been sold. Spring Training starts in a week. Jeter's announcement means it is YOUR LAST CHANCE TO BUY A TICKET AND SEE DEREK JETER, YANKEE FANS.
 
With a crap season seemingly approaching, an offseason full of puzzling moves and on the heels of last year's abysmal balance sheet results this is almost assuredly a favor from Jeter to the Steinbrenner family. 
 
I'll bet the ticket office was mighty busy this afternoon with teary fans asking "what night will Jeter be honored?" The answer is every night. In every city. But mostly for 82 home games. Get yours now.

 

[Infield Infidel]

His farewell tour will move slowly to the left and then overthrow the Bronx. 

 

[derekson]

Timing is interesting. His body must be telling him something even now. I doubt he will do the Mariano tour. That's not his style. Jeter-haters may find this hard to believe but the guy doesn't seek the spotlight. 

 
This is exactly the kind of stuff we all heard ad nauseum about Mariano Rivera, and he lapped up the worship tour. And Jeter is definitely less modest than Rivera.

 

[The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa]

Just like Jeter to upstage the Olympics.  Selfish asshole.

 
I thought he was upstaging Michael Sam.

 

[jon abbey]

If he stays healthy, the chase for 3500 hits just got more interesting. He is at 3316 now, and averaged 186 his last three years (not counting 2013, obviously). 

 

[glennhoffmania]

My friend and I have a bet about whether Jeter will reach 3500 hits.  We made the bet in 2009 and predicted it will be resolved in 2014.  I just emailed him asking how confident he feels (Jeter needs 184 hits, by the way).  He said he thinks it's better than 50/50.
 
The winner gets a steak dinner, and the loser has to also buy tickets to a Sox-Yanks game and wear the jersey of the other team.  I can't wait.

 

[jon abbey]

Also, 104 hits to tie Honus Wagner for 7th alltime at 3420. He should pretty easily make it to 6th if he can stay healthy (obviously a big if), that is currently Cap Anson at 3435. Tris Speaker at 5th (3514) seems out of range unless he can recapture his 2012 form. 
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/H_career.shtml

 

[jon abbey]

My friend and I have a bet about whether Jeter will reach 3500 hits.  We made the bet in 2009 and predicted it will be resolved in 2014.  I just emailed him asking how confident he feels (Jeter needs 184 hits, by the way).  He said he thinks it's better than 50/50.
 
The winner gets a steak dinner, and the loser has to also buy tickets to a Sox-Yanks game and wear the jersey of the other team.  I can't wait.

 
Yeah, your odds obviously just went way up. 

 

[Hendu for Kutch]

First, wasn't it? It ended up being worse for the Yankees than if A-Rod had just grounded out like normal.

 
Bah, you're right.  Another joke eaten by the Incorrect Detail Monster.

 

[ifmanis5]

Sidebar, in 2015, who is the next Yankee captain?

 

[EvilEmpire]

Sidebar, in 2015, who is the next Yankee captain?

Robbie Can...oh no!

I doubt they have one for a while.

 

[glennhoffmania]

If he stays healthy, the chase for 3500 hits just got more interesting. He is at 3316 now, and averaged 186 his last three years (not counting 2013, obviously). 

 
Ha.  Good timing.
 
If he plays in 150 games and averages 4.5 PAs per game, he'll have to hit .296 to reach 3500 hits (assuming a BB rate of around 8%).  I'm not holding my breath.

 

[jon abbey]

Sidebar, in 2015, who is the next Yankee captain?

 
Can I guess Brian McCann?