Derek Jeter
[Long time no see....sorry, summer you know? baseball, women's world cup...gotta lot to do]
Derek Jeter
Let me start by saying though I hate the Yankees I have always loved Derek Jeter. Something about class and keeping his mouth shut and playing every day. And something about that time about five years ago when he went 0 for a million and never complained, kept playing and eventually came out of it. It was that period in his career that made me a fan.
So I've been watching and waiting to see when he would do it. It's well documented what he did so no reason to go into that. I'd rather talk about the kid that caught the ball.
Turns out he's a 23 year old cell phone salesman (who lost his cell phone in the scrum, by the way). He catches the carom off his old man and holds high the 3000th hit. Immediately people began to wonder about Jeter's legacy in the history of the sport; some talked about his class, his poise...all kinds of things went through people's head.
Me? I began to wonder about the kid that caught the ball and the circus that was going to start. What's he going to charge Jeter? How many of the vultures that deal in memorabilia are going to hound him? Just how much can he get for the ball?
And the kid turns out to be old school. He turns out to be a decent human being who gives the ball back to Jeter and says "it never occurred to me to keep the ball. It's Mr. Jeter's not mine," which technically is not true once the thing passes the wall.
They give him tickets and jerseys and balls signed by Jeter and he seems satisfied.
But talk radio isn't. Today I listen to two clowns here in DC arguing how much they would have held Jeter up for the ball, how much they would have charged him. They call the kid a jerk for just giving it back and they begin to talk about how the kid has a couple hundred thousand dollars in college debt which is justification enough to charge money for the ball.
They are what is wrong with sports now. They say it's all money when they are complaining about some .200 hitter getting $10 million. Then when they have a chance to come down on the side of the soul of the sport, they come down on the side of greed.
Now I must say what I think Jeter and the Yankees could do is pay the kids debts. That would be class. Jeter might do it...but oh, wait, it's the Yankees...never mind.
Way to go kid. I wish I had a couple of grand hanging around so I could pay your college debts...
Derek Jeter
Let me start by saying though I hate the Yankees I have always loved Derek Jeter. Something about class and keeping his mouth shut and playing every day. And something about that time about five years ago when he went 0 for a million and never complained, kept playing and eventually came out of it. It was that period in his career that made me a fan.
So I've been watching and waiting to see when he would do it. It's well documented what he did so no reason to go into that. I'd rather talk about the kid that caught the ball.
Turns out he's a 23 year old cell phone salesman (who lost his cell phone in the scrum, by the way). He catches the carom off his old man and holds high the 3000th hit. Immediately people began to wonder about Jeter's legacy in the history of the sport; some talked about his class, his poise...all kinds of things went through people's head.
Me? I began to wonder about the kid that caught the ball and the circus that was going to start. What's he going to charge Jeter? How many of the vultures that deal in memorabilia are going to hound him? Just how much can he get for the ball?
And the kid turns out to be old school. He turns out to be a decent human being who gives the ball back to Jeter and says "it never occurred to me to keep the ball. It's Mr. Jeter's not mine," which technically is not true once the thing passes the wall.
They give him tickets and jerseys and balls signed by Jeter and he seems satisfied.
But talk radio isn't. Today I listen to two clowns here in DC arguing how much they would have held Jeter up for the ball, how much they would have charged him. They call the kid a jerk for just giving it back and they begin to talk about how the kid has a couple hundred thousand dollars in college debt which is justification enough to charge money for the ball.
They are what is wrong with sports now. They say it's all money when they are complaining about some .200 hitter getting $10 million. Then when they have a chance to come down on the side of the soul of the sport, they come down on the side of greed.
Now I must say what I think Jeter and the Yankees could do is pay the kids debts. That would be class. Jeter might do it...but oh, wait, it's the Yankees...never mind.
Way to go kid. I wish I had a couple of grand hanging around so I could pay your college debts...
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