On Sunday, baseball fans said good bye to one of the most iconic men in baseball history, the captain of the New York Yankees, No. 2, Derek Jeter.
Jeter played his last game Sunday afternoon from Fenway Park in Boston. Following an infield single, Yankees manager Joe Girarde took Jeter out of the game and let the crowd at Fenway Park say goodbye to the man who had been a thorn in their sides for 20 years. Even after all the misery Jeter caused the Boston faithful, he received a standing ovation.
However, Jeter said goodbye to his New York City fans just three nights earlier. A crowd of 48,613 people packed into Yankee Stadium to see the end of a Yankee era. Jeter will always be remembered by Yankee fans for performing at his best when it mattered most. As fate would have it, Jeter came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie ball game with a runner on second base. In front of the largest Yankee crowd of 2014, Jeter ripped an opposite field walk-off base hit to score Antoan Richardson and give the Yankees the win. The New York crowd roared as it saw its hero go out on top. An emotional Jeter talked about his career after the game.
“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and not too many people get an opportunity to do it,” Jeter said. “It was above and beyond anything I’d ever dreamed of. I’ve lived a dream.”
Girardi discussed the legacy of Jeter with the media after the game.
“You think about all the big hits that he’s had in his career, and all the things that he’s done to help this club win championships and divisions,” Girardi said. “He’s been here since the run that started in ‘96. I don’t think there’s a more fitting way for it to end.”
Jeter spent all 20 years of his career playing for the most storied franchise in Major League Baseball history. Jeter won his first World Series in his first full season with the Yankees in 1996. Jeter and the Yankees won the World Series three years in a row from 1998-2000. Jeter was the last Yankee left to retire from those teams. Players from those teams included Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Andy Pettite, Mariano Rivera and even Yankees current manager Joe Girardi. In the 2000 World Series, The Yankees defeated the New York Mets four games to one in what is now known as the Subway Series. In this series, Jeter had a .409 batting average, two home runs and was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. Jeter won his fifth World Series in 2009 over the Philadelphia Phillies. In 158 post-season games, Jeter has a .308 batting average, 20 home runs and 61 runs batted in.   
 In 1996, Jeter was voted American League Rookie of the Year. This was the first of many awards for the man who would become the captain of the New York Yankees. Jeter was voted to the American League All Star team 14 times in his career. Jeter is also a five-time American League Silver Slugger award winner and a five-time American League Golden Glove award winner. Jeter led the league in hits in 1999 and 2012. The Captain of the Yankees finished his career with 3,465 hits, which is the sixth-most in the MLB, and 1,923 runs scored, which is the ninth-most in MLB history.
In Jeter’s illustrious 20-year career, his image was clean as a whistle on and off the field. Jeter was never arrested, suspended, ejected from a game or accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. In a game where yelling at the umpire is part of the culture, Jeter never once pushed an umpire to the limit. Even admirable baseball legends Cal Ripken Jr. and the late Tony Gwynn were ejected from games more than once. Jeter also avoided ever being arrested or suspended in his career, which is becoming more and more uncommon in sports today. Jeter played in an era during the mid-to-late 90’s, which is known as the Steroid Era. In this era many greats such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Roger Clemens fell from the graces of baseball fans due to their associations with performance-enhancing drugs. Jeter was never once accused of cheating or disgracing the game of baseball in any way. During Jeter’s career, his integrity was never questioned, which is more important than any on-the-field statistic.
Above all else, fans will remember the way Derek Jeter played the game. Fans will never forget when he dove into the stands in the 12th inning against the Red Sox to catch a foul ball and came out with a black eye. Neither will fans forget the amazing flip play to save a run against the Oakland Athletics in the 2001 playoffs. It was never stats or numbers that made fans love Derek Jeter. They loved him because of the way he played the game. Sports fans love Jeter for the same reason they love Tim Tebow, Michael Jordan and Peyton Manning. Jeter was always the most exciting player on the field and the most fun to watch. Former Yankees manager Joe Torre coached Jeter to four World Series titles and told ESPN he knew Jeter was special from the very beginning.
“We knew from the start that there was something special about him,” Torre said. “The way he carried himself, the way he played the game. He’s just all about winning.”