On Wednesday, a New York Sports icon announced that the 2014 season would be his final tour of an unforgettable career that started in 1995 with a World Series Championship.
Derek Jeter announced he will retire from Major League Baseball via an emotional 14-paragraph statement posted publicly on his Facebook page.
“From the time I was a kid, my dream was always very vivid and it never changed: I was going to be the shortstop for the [New York] Yankees. It started as an empty canvas more than 20 years ago, and now that I look at it, it’s almost complete,” he said in the statement.
Over his career, Jeter won five World Series Championships and was named to the All-Star team 13 times, all with the Yankees. He was named the Yankee’s captain in 2003, and has become one of the most beloved and well-respected New York sports figures.
Jeter played in both the last game at the old Yankee Stadium and the first game at the new one, which opened in 2009.
Jeter will turn 40 in June, and he is looking to rebound after an injury-plagued season in which he only played 17 games. He suffered from a fractured ankle that he injured in the 2012 American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers and could not return to top form in 2013.
With the recent acquisition of ace pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees are poised to make a playoff run under the leadership of Jeter for the last time.
—
mmontal1@ramapo.edu
