Like many baseball fans, I was blessed to have had a father who was a huge baseball fan – albeit a Cubs fan. I was blessed that he frequently took my brothers and me to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to watch the newly arrived Dodgers from Brooklyn. Although my overall memories of these early Dodger games is rather vague (I was five), I vividly recall guys named Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Carl Erskine, Don Newcombe, Johnny Podres and a couple of youngsters named Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax. Yes, I am proud and blessed to say that I actually got to see these guys and the other ‘Boys of Summer’ on that very first Los Angeles Dodgers team play the game.

Over the years I was also blessed to see guys like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Yogi Berra, Roberto Clemente and many other baseball legends and Hall of Famers play the game as well, along with hundreds of Dodger players – and I shall cherish every one of these great memories until my final breath.

During the next eight months much is going to be said, written, watched and heard about Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and his farewell season. And then five years from now even more will be said, written, watched and heard about Jeter when he is elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on the first ballot. And while there is absolutely no logical or justifiable reason on earth why Jeter shouldn’t be baseball’s first 100% Hall of Fame vote-getter, some knucklehead BBWAA writer will undoubtedly come up with some lame excuse not to vote for Jeter – it is as certain as death and taxes.

Even though Jeter played in only 17 games in 2013, two of them were at Dodger Stadium on July 30 & 31.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka – Click on photo to enlarge)

As a life-long Dodger fan I make no bones about the fact that I absolutely loathe the Yankees – not the players themselves (A-Rod notwithstanding) but the franchise in general. Why? Because since baseball began over 130 years ago, the Yankees have owned the Dodgers. In fact, of the 11 times that the two teams have faced each other in the World Series, the Yankees won eight of them. The silver lining to this dark cloud is that of the Dodgers six World Series titles, three were against the Yankees (1955, 1963 and 1981).

All of this being said and as a lifelong fan of the game itself, it is impossible not to respect Derek Jeter and everything that he accomplished and brought to the game in what will end up being 20 major league seasons – every one of them as a Yankee and not one of them with even a hint of PED use.

Yasiel Puig, meet Derek Jeter.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka – Click on photo to enlarge)

Rather than detailing Jeter’s 1996 Rookie of the Year, 13-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove, five-time Silver Slugger and five-time World Series champion Hall of Fame career, let me simply say that it would be wise for everyone, young and old, to pay very close attention to Jeter’s final season in major league baseball – not necessarily for what his 2014 numbers will end up being, but because he is as close to The Natural as any person who ever played the game.

The good Lord willing and just like those baseball greats that I mentioned above, twenty years from now I will be able to say:

“I saw Derek Jeter play.”

Thank you Derek Jeter, just thank you.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)