A Finish 2 Remember

Of course Derek was going to do something memorable in his final game at Yankee Stadium.  Is anyone surprised?  If there's one guy who you know is always going to rise to the occasion and do something special, it's Derek Jeter.

His Yankee Stadium farewell is certainly going to go down as one of those classic Jeter Moments, and you know this game is going to be seen on Yankees Classics sooner rather than later.  Just like a bunch of Derek's other classic games.  This one will definitely be taking a prominent place in the memory bank.  We'll never see another player like Derek Jeter, and we never will again.  And I'm choosing not to be sad.  I'm choosing to celebrate the career of the last Yankee ever to wear a single-digit number.

The Derek memories are vast, and everyone has their favorites and their reasons why.  For example, the Flip Play is one of his signature moments.  But I, personally, hate the Flip Play.  I think it's incredibly overrated.  Every time I see it, it annoys me.  Because every time I sit there yelling "Slide!"  (Think about it, if Jeremy Giambi slides like he's supposed to, that play never happens.)  Anyway, here are my favorite Jeter Moments, in no particular order, with today's game jumping right onto that list.

• Opening Day, 1996: His first day as the Yankees starting shortstop.  His rookie year, Opening Day in Cleveland.  And Derek goes yard.  It was just the start of something special.
• Mr. November: It took Tino Martinez to set it up, but in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, we had November baseball for the first time in history.  And it didn't take long for Derek to become "Mr. November," belting a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th to tie the series.
• 3000: Derek sure had a flare for the dramatic didn't he?  Why wouldn't his 3000th hit be a home run?  And why wouldn't it come off a brand-name pitcher like David Price?  As Michael Kay said on YES that day, "History, with an exclamation point!"
• The Farewell Speech: When the Yankees closed the Old Stadium, you knew it was going to be special.  (They played the Orioles in that one, too.  Baltimore picks good years to end the season in the Bronx.)  When the game ended in a Yankees win, with all of the stars through the years there, you knew there was going to be one last magic moment.  And that moment wasn't even a play.  It was The Captain speaking for all those generations of Yankees, taking the microphone and thanking the fans.
• Mariano's Farewell: Did he draw some inspiration from seeing his friend and fellow Core Four member hang it up last season?  I think so.  Derek's goodbye was completely different, but his role in Mariano's was equally special.  Derek and Andy Pettitte came out of the dugout to take Rivera out of the game, Derek told Mo, "It's time to go," and Rivera wept on Pettitte's shoulder.
• Game 4, 2000 World Series: The Mets had won Game 3 to get back in the series, but Derek sent a message leading off Game 4, sending a blast over the left field wall at Shea Stadium.  The Yankees won the game to go up 3-1, then clinched their third straight title a night later.  And Derek was named World Series MVP after hitting .409 in the five games.
• Breaking Lou Gehrig's Yankees Hits Record: It was probably the first great moment at the New Stadium.  On September 11, 2009, Derek hit one of his trademark inside-out singles to the opposite field for his 2,721st career hit, breaking Lou Gehrig's franchise record.
• Breaking Gehrig's Yankee Stadium Hits Record: A year earlier, Derek broke another one of Gehrig's records.  On the Yankees' final homestand at the Old Stadium, Derek rose to the top.  In the 85-year history of the Old Yankee Stadium, with all the Hall of Famers and baseball legends that have worn Yankees pinstripes in that time, no one had more hits than Derek Jeter.
• His Final All-Star Game: To all the idiots who said that Jeter didn't deserve to be on the AL All-Star Team this year, you simply don't get it.  Yes, he deserved to be there.  And yes, he deserved to start.  And the ending John Farrell gave him was perfect, too.  He went out to his position in the top of the fourth, only to have Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox come in before the inning started so Derek could get the ovation he richly deserved.  (It reminded me a little of the 1999 All-Star Game in Boston, when he started, then gave way to Nomar.)
• Jeffrey Maier: It's weird that a lot of Derek's memorable plays have come against the Orioles, isn't it?  This one, of course, is his walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS that was "helped" over the fence by the 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier.  The Yankees won the series in five, and a dynasty was born.
• His First Hit: Honestly, I don't actually remember his first hit.  It was in May of 1995.  I was 13 years old.  And the game was in Seattle, so I was probably in bed when it happened.  But it was the first of many.  Only five men in history have had more.
• His First Grand Slam: For years, every time he came up with the bases loaded, they'd throw up that stat saying how many at-bats he had without a grand slam.  It was getting to the point where it was ridiculous.  Until 2003.  When the Yankees were playing the Cubs at the Old Stadium and Derek finally got rid of that zero, crushing one to left center for his only career grand slam.
• Tonight: Yes, it goes on the list.  How could it not?  It was a very Jeterian ending.  Just like a single through the hole to right field or a leaping throw from the outfield grass to nab a runner at first.
• Homering In His Return From the DL Last Season: The 2013 season is one Derek would love to forget.  It was completely derailed by injuries.  But that didn't stop Derek from producing a very Jeter moment in one of the few games he did play.  The first pitch of his first game back from one of his many DL stints, and he hits one out.
• His Last Home Run: At least I hope it's his last.  This one is a little more personal for me...because I was sitting in the stands last Thursday against Toronto when he belted his only Yankee Stadium home run of the year.  The best part was I got it on video.

All of those moments were great in their own right, but I have a favorite that stands out above the rest.  The date was July 1, 2004.  It was the height of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.  The game was an absolute classic.  John Flaherty, the last man on the bench, ended it with a walk-off single in the 13th.  Flaherty was batting in Jeter's lineup spot.  Jeter was out of the game because, in the top of the 12th, he made a running catch to end the inning, and crashed face-first into the box seats along the third base line.  He emerged with the ball, bleeding from his cheek, and he probably would've stayed in if he wasn't due up second in the bottom of the 12th.

Of all the memories Derek Jeter provided us Yankees fans over the years.  Twenty seasons, five championships, seven pennants, more than 3700 hits, there's no one like No. 2.  Not even close.  The Face of the Yankees, the Face of Baseball, one of the classiest men ever to play the game.  He will be missed.