It’s a shame that Derek Jeter’s final days as a Yankee have to be enmeshed in this “debate” over his place in team and MLB history. When I first heard about Keith Olbermann’s “Jeter smackdown,” I thought, “there Keith goes again, trying to show he’s the smartest guy in the room.” But after listening to it, I have to admit that Olbermann made some good points. One of them was that there’s a whole generation of fans who don’t know baseball without Jeter. To hear their elders talking about how great Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio and Mantle were is like hearing fairy tales.
Not being a Yankee fan, I’m fairly neutral on the subject. My objections lie not in the quality of his playing, but in the season-long “Selling of Derek Jeter” campaign which features Brandon Steiner trying to rake in every dime he can (literally).
Yankees radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman was a guest on a recent Brian Lehrer Show. She might be biased in her admiration for Jeter, but she was honest in her appraisal that she doesn’t “know” him; he’s kept a low profile over his entire career. I wish she and Lehrer had addressed this latest money-grab. (By the way, just as the Yankees had three Jeter “days,” so did the BLS have two Jeter “farewells.”)
And just in case you’re wondering, the title of this entry comes from an old advertising campaign, only instead of fur coats just substitute Michael Jordan athletic shoes.
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