I grew up idolizing quite a few ball players. I loved Rickey Henderson and even before the Yankees, I was fascinated by his speed. I had Rickey's 8 x 10 in a frame on my wall. I studied his technique on the bases and pretended I was him every time I got on. It didn't matter I wasn't him...I believe I was.
I also realized early on just how special Ron Guidry was to me. I too was a lefty, and I'd pretend I was striking out guys like crazy in my backyard. I remember literally taping a fake mustache on my upper lip and pitching a ball into a dent in the chain link fence... over and over and over again.
Sure, I loved Don Mattingly and guys like Robin Yount too, but I also loved a guy named Pete Rose who played harder than anyone I ever saw. Now I sit with my kids and we watch Derek Jeter pile up hits every game and I think about Pete Rose constantly and how he just chipped away at Ty Cobb's hits record and I wondered back then, "Is that hits record really going to be broken?" Well, eventually it was broken and I was amazed. Charlie Hustle did the impossible... he passed Ty Cobb. It was nuts to think about at the time, but now Derek Jeter has alittle over 1000 hits until he ties Pete Rose. He has 3251 now.Wow.
Put it this way... this is New York, these are my Yankees and this is Derek Jeter we're talking about. Derek Jeter is the all-time hits leader on the historic New York Yankees, passing guys like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Jeet has 5 World Series rings. He's a 13 time All-Star, a 1996 Rookie of the Year. He's won countless Silver Slugger awards, Gold Gloves, an All-Star Game and World Series MVP in 2000... and he did it clean and working hard every single day on the field. So, as I think about Pete Rose and his hits record of 4256, I ask it again..."Is that hits record really going to be broken?" The answer is simple... never say never in the Bronx, especially when your talking about Derek Sanderson Jeter.
Now... give credit where credit is due, Joshua Prager of the New York Times writes a brilliant piece titled Jeter Chips Away at Hits Record as Rose Watches. It's his piece that inspired me to write mine. I've been thinking about Jeter for a few months now as he continues to tie baseball greats in every category in baseball and he just continues to amaze me. He's truly a baseball icon in the modern era. He's passing guys like Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron and George Brett. Kids love him, women want to marry him and men want to be him. How much bigger can this guy get?
So I ask you, do you think Derek Jeter can do it? 4256 is a long way to go, but Pete Rose beat Ty Cobb's record of 4189 and with everything that Derek Jeter has done in his career, wouldn't it just make sense, or be fate for him to break the all-time hits record too? Damn I'd love to see that. Comment. Tell me what you think.
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