Hero Worship: Derek Jeter

The man, the myth, the legend. He's dated pop singers, movie stars, and a former miss universe. His hardware/jewelry collection includes hefty amounts of gold, silver, and whatever materials they use in World Series Championship rings. His many achievements are outweighed only by his personality: clean-cut, intelligent, charitable, and personable. Woman want him; men want to be him. (And men also want him). He is one of the most clutch athletes in recent memory. Who else would be our inaugural selection for hero worship? The shortstop, number 2, Derek Jeter...number 2.

From the beginning, Yankees fans and players alike knew Derek would blossom into something special. At the ripe old age of 21, Jeter already carried himself with such professionalism that his teammates could not find a single reason to administer so-called "rookie hazing" - a ritual that occurs every year to the rookies in each MLB clubhouse. Prior to his first full season, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner told the media that he would be satisfied if Jeter hit .250 and played solid defense; Derek responded by batting .314, smacking 25 doubles, fielding a clean .969 percent, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award, and helping the Yankees clinch their first World Championship since 1981. All of this at the age of 22! However, Derek's amazing rookie campaign would only be a glimpse of things to come.

You'd be reading this post for a whole week if I attempted to go through all of Jeter's achievements and fine moments, so I'll do my best to keep it concise. Below is BD's list of important achievements in the career of Derek Jeter:

-FIVE time World Champion
-Career hits leader for the Yankees (2747 and counting)
-Only player to win both All-Star Game MVP & World Series MVP in same year (2000)
-10-time All-Star
-4-time Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award winner
-Lifetime .321 batting average in World Series play

We would be remiss if we didn't feature a photo montage commemorating Derek's unbelievably clutch and memorable plays:









Jeter is also extremely charitable, constantly giving back to the community through his Turn 2 foundation. He's hosted Saturday Night Live, appeared on Seinfeld, is currently shooting a movie with Donnie Wahlberg, and can constantly be seen in TV commercials with his many endorsements, including Nike, Gatorade, Ford, Gillette, etc...dude's a bonafide star. The list of women he's been romantically linked to is so beautiful, it deserves another blog post in itself.

At age 35, Jeet has shown no signs of slowing down after acquiring his 5th world series ring. Now with long-time teammate Andy Pettitte (future hero worship anyone?) back and new acquisition Curtis Granderson on board, there's no reason to think we can't repeat. However, championship or not I know Derek Jeter will still be my hero.

-BD