A Thank You To Derek Jeter For The Past 15 Years

Derek Sanderson Jeter made his major league debut 15 years ago today, May 29, 1995. For any fan, of the Yankees, and the game of baseball, it has been a great 15 years. We have all gone along for the ride of this great shortstop.

Jeter made his major league debut with the Yankees 15 years ago when injuries to Tony Fernandez and Pat Kelly required the team to call up their young future star. His debut came against the Seattle Mariners in a 8-7 loss in which Jeter went 0-for-5.

The shortstop we would all grow to love, played in 13 games in 1995 before being demoted back to Triple-A. He bated .234 and committed two errors in his brief appearance.

It was announced that Jeter would be the teams starting shortstop to begin the 1996 season. By doing so, he became the first Yankees rookie to start at shortstop since Tom Tresh in 1962.

Jeter would homer on opening day and would go on to have a successful 2006 rookie season. He batted .314 with ten home runs and 78 runs batted in. Jeter also scored 104 runs that year and went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award.

The star young shortstop also helped the Yankees win their first World Series since 1978 by batting .361 in the 1996 playoffs.

This was the beginning of a Hall of Fame career that is still going on. Derek Jeter has given Yankees fan many things to cheer about and you would be hard pressed to find a Yankees fan that is not proud of the young star that came up through the teams farm system.

Big seasons, incredible plays, big hits, broken records, and so much more.

Here are some of my favorite memories of our captain, #2, Derek Jeter:

– 1996:  The Jeffery Maier Play
– 2000:  All-Star Game Home Run. The first Yankee since Yogi Berra in 1959.
– 2001:  The Flip
– 2001:  Mr. November Is Born
– 2003:  Jeter Named Captain
– 2004:  The Catch
– 2008:  Set Yankees All-Time Hit Record
– 2008: Yankee Stadium Farewell Speech
– 2009:  Team USA Captain

Another memory I have of the captain is the 2009 World Series. It is more of a memory of his family and the team rather then Jeter himself.

Jeter has received many awards in his career and I am sure he will get more and more as he continues to play at a very high level.

As Yankees fans, we know we are in good hands with Derek Jeter in the lineup.

Derek Jeter: Thank you for the past 15 years and many more to come!

Derek Jeter, #2, A Yankee Forever.