Pursuit Of 3,000 Takes A Stop To The DL

Jeter's injury might allow him to join the
3,000-hit club at home.

It has been a tough year and a half for New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter and Tuesday wasn't any better. In the second of inning of Monday night's 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians, Jeter was running out a fielder's choice to first base when he appeared to hurt his right calf. The shortstop stayed in the game, but after he flew out to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning, he gingerly ran to first in obvious pain. Jeter didn't return to play defense the following half inning as utility infielder Eduardo Nunez replaced the seventeen-year veteran.

    Jeter has suffered a Grade I strain of his right calf and was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday leaving a huge hole atop the Yankees order.

    This is the first time Jeter has been on the disabled list since 2003 when he suffered a separated shoulder on Opening Day against the Toronto Blue Jays. The injury now puts Jeter's pursuit of becoming the first Yankees and 28th player in history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau to a straining hault.

    Jeter singled in his first at-bat Monday giving him 2,994 hits for his career, closing the gap to 6 hits shy of a mark that dignifies longevity and consistency.

    With Jeter now on the disabled list and two games left on New York's current home stand, the possibility of the captain doing it in front of a sold out Yankee Stadium or at least in New York never seemed more apparent.

    The eleven-time All-Star is eligible to come off the disabled list on the fifth game of the Yankees next home stand in an Interleague game against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 29th. There Jeter will have two games to try and get six hits before New York heads out on to the road once again. However, the Yankees play their second of their two annual Subway Series meetings with the New York Mets on the year to begin the road trip, giving Jeter the chance to at least reach the milestone in the Big Apple.

    Many Yankee fans remember closer Mariano Rivera recorded his 500th career save in the final game of the first Subway Series at Citi Field back in 2009. It might be a fitting place if not at the Stadium for Jeter to do it there.

Rivera recorded his 500th career save away
from the Stadium back in '09.

Jeter is already the Yankees all-time hits leader with his current mark, growing with every hit, after he passed the mythical Lou Gehrig in '09. He also passed Gehrig for the all-time hits mark at the Old Yankee Stadium in it's final year of play with 1,274 hits during his time in the House That Ruth Built.

    In 62 games this season Jeter is batting .260 with 2 home runs and 20 runs batted in and while those are not the number we are accustom to seeing with the Yankee captain we should be celebrating this historic moment rather than critcize one of the greatest players in Yankee history.

Jeter Steals His Way Into Yankee History

Jeter continues to move up in Yankee
history.

Derek Jeter has broken yet another New York Yankee franchise record. With his 327th career stole base in the second inning off Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez and catcher Miguel Olivo Saturday night, Jeter surpassed Rickey Henderson for Yankees all-time lead.

    In Henderson's four and a half seasons in New York from '85-'89, he racked up 326 stolen bases. He also set the Yankee franchise record for stolen bases in a season with 93 in his final full year in the Bronx. That record still stands today as no Yankee had come close to eclipsing his mark set in '88.

    Former Yankees coach and player Willie Randolph is third on the list with 251 stolen bags.

    For Jeter it's another accomplishment he can add to his already impressive resume. The captain ranks among the greats in every major category in Yankee history including fifth in batting average (.313), fourth in total bases (4282), third in runs (1714), second in doubles (474) and games played (2343), first in at-bats (9528) and of course in hits with 2979.

    Mr. November is now only 21 hits shy of becoming the first Yankee in history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau. With that just on the horizon, we can expect it some time soon for the five-time World Series champion. At his point in their careers Jeter is only 188 hits off the pace of all-time leader Pete Rose, who had 3,167 through this many games in his career.

   Its a stretch but if the now thirty-seven-year-old shortstop can stay healthy and productive, we might be talking about 4,000 one day.

    No matter what, when it is all said a done Jeter's name will forever be placed with the legends in Yankee lure.

A Band Of Brothers

The Four Core have experienced many
highs and lows together over the
years.

The most decorated franchise in professional sports had not made a postseason appearance since 1981 until four young men came along in 1995, paving the way for the next New York Yankees dynasty. Little did we know it would begin a run that will be never matched again in professional sports. Know as the Core Four Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Jorge Posada all made their major league debuts under manager Buck Showalter in '95. Sixteen years later three of the four are still in tact and viable parts to the Yankees winning another World Series title.

    2011 marked truly an historic year in the teams already long history. Rivera, Jeter, and Posada are the first trio of teammates in any professional sport to spend seventeen straight seasons together, a feat that might never be eclipsed.

    Jeter's good looks, charisma, desire to win, and ability to perform at this best in October has made him the face of the Yankees franchise the last seventeen seasons. Jeter is a .313 life time career hitter in the majors and will become the first Yankee in history to reach 3,000 for a career later this year. The eleven-time All-Star has won five Gold Gloves and was named in the '96 Rookie of the Year in his first full season in the big leagues under first year manger Joe Torre.

    Jeter has followed in the foot steps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle, and Mattingly as one of the greatest players to ever dawn the pinstripes, but the critics have been out early in '11. After coming off a subpar season a year ago, batting a career low .270, 2011 has not been any different for Jeter, who is currently batting .268 in 34 games. We may be witnessing the inevitable decline of one the most iconic Yankees in history.

     No matter how the captain finishes his career, his place in Yankee lure is secure.

    Posada has been the man calling pitches for New York since '98 and been one of the greatest offensive catchers in the history of the sport. A former infielder Posada learned the tricks of the trade in the minor leagues and has put himself in the discussion with Berra, Dickey, Howard, and Munson as the greatest Yankee backstop of all-time. Posada is one of only five catchers in history to record 1,000 hits, 350 doubles, 200 home runs, and drive in 1,000 runs during their career. One of those also includes Berra.

    Even though Posada was removed from his full time catching duties this season and slotted into the designated hitter spot in the lineup, he has found his power stroke early. Posada has blasted six home runs to start the year, but finds his average on the Interstates batting .165. The thirty-nine-year old is in his final year of his current contract and could be the last in a brilliant career.

They have captured five titles together in
seven World Series appearances.

As for Rivera well he is still Rivera. At 41, he still seems to be the eighth wonder of the world dominating hitters with one pitch. His velocity has diminished since he was young man out of Panama, touching the surface of a big league mound but nonetheless the results are the same. Rivera with his consistency and impeccable control has climbed to second on the all-time list in saves and leads the majors in '11 with 13 in 15 chances. 

    There is not even an argument that Rivera has cemented his legacy as the greatest relief pitcher in baseball history, even more so with his unbelievable postseason numbers. His 0.71 earned run average is the lowest in postseason history along with accumulating an unreachable 42 saves in fifteen trips to the postseason.

    The seventeen years these three have spent together has been special and can not be put into words what it means to baseball. In a generation where free agency dictates the market, too have three Hall-of- Fame caliber players stay in the same place for that long is remarkable and almost unheard of. It demonstrates the longevity and productivity throughout their respective careers. Especially in a place that demands immediate results every year.  

    Pettitte would have been apart of this historic group if he did not chose to sign with his hometown Houston Astros prior to the '04 season and call it a career after New York's '10 postseason series loss to the Texas Rangers. The southpaw helped Houston make the postseason twice, including pitching them into the 2005 World Series for the first time in franchise history. After a three-year absence from the Bronx, he returned to 161st Street River Ave. to pitch his final seasons where it all began.

    Their success goes beyond the five World Series titles they brought to the Big Apple, but more of the example they set for future players. Detriot Tigers manager Jim Leyland said it best when he said, "You will never see something like this again." He is right.

     They closed the greatest sporting venue in the world together in '08 and opened a palace the following season, christening it with their 27th World Series title in the history of the franchise. With only three of the Core Four still playing and all thirty-seven years old or older, this era is coming to a close. They will not soon be forgotten as their plaques in Monument Park are waiting along with the retirement of their numbers, to stand with the most immortal Yankees. 

    Revel in the moment while you still can because what this group of guys has done shall never be repeated.