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It’s finally happening. New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has announced via his Facebook page that he will be retiring at the end of the 2014 season — ending his career as one of the greatest to play his position of all time. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, however, as he has been battling injuries for the better part of two seasons. He made this announcement via his Facebook page:
The 39-year-old will finish his career on the list of top-10 hitters of all time as he is currently No. 9 with 3,316 hits. If his ankle holds up in 2014, he could finish his career on top and that’s pretty rare for a top athlete these days.
A career .312 hitter, Jeter knows how to make contact with the ball and has been one of the most celebrated players in Yankees history. Not many players can come into the game and have the type of impact that baseball’s captain has had.
Over the years, people have grown to hate the Yankees, but the love for Jeter never wavered.
Jeter only played 17 games in 2013 and will be looking to return to full health in 2014 and help the resurgent Yankees roster win a World Series for the first time since 2009.
This comes as a tough announcement for the Yankees seeing as they just saw Mariano Rivera retire following the 2013 season, but expect the farewell tour for Jeter to be much greater than Rivera’s was.
We will be saying goodbye to one of the greatest player to ever pick up a bat and a glove and it won’t be too long before he is a unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame along with his former teammate, Rivera.
Don’t be surprised if you see Jeter in the dugout as a manager one day.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
