Let another Yankees milestone countdown begin.
No, let’s hold off until around six years from now to gush about Alex Rodriguez and him sniffing home run No. 762. Derek Jeter is about to accomplish something major much sooner.
The longtime shortstop is quietly approaching 3,000 hits, a feat that will place him in some esteemed company.
The 16-year pro enters Sunday's game against the Red Sox with 2,873 career hits — 127 off the milestone mark. Given that he has 126 in 107 games this season, going on an Ichiro-like rampage is highly unlikely. Although Jeter’s career average of 207 hits per year would mean he gets within spitting distance of 3,000, his .278 batting average — which would be his lowest full-season average of his career – makes it more likely that he will end 2010 around the 2,937 mark.
So if he is another season away from calling himself Mr. 3,000, what’s the big deal? Why start the countdown now?
Well, for one, it’s much more tolerable to cheer for the classy face of the Yankees organization than that A-list celebrity who bats cleanup. Love the Yankees or hate them (after all, there is no in between), you have to celebrate that Jeter is, barring something unforeseen, going to join the likes of Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Paul Molitor, Carl Yastrzemski, Cal Ripken, Jr., Tony Gwynn and a dozen other legends, without nagging the media or whining to management for attention.
No one has played in more games since he became a full-time starter in 1996 than Jeter. He has been one of the finest leadoff hitters and shortstops for so long, that we take things like All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves for granted now. Roping 3,000 hits should not — and will not — be taken for granted.
Then there’s the milestone he is likely to reach before the end of the Red Sox series, and perhaps even by the end of the night. He is one hit shy of surpassing Babe Ruth and his 2,873 hits. After all the hoopla given to A-Rod’s 600th long ball, what will the Yankees do for their captain when he surpasses The Babe? Unveil a banner? Show a video montage? Or just demand a standing ovation from all in attendance at Yankee Stadium?
Perhaps it should be all of the above.
As Rodriguez said after he hit No. 600, "the real milestone is when you start surpassing some of the all-time greats."
Jeter is about to do just that. New York should be getting ready to celebrate a real milestone.
