Derek

Derek Jeter is my favorite baseball player. Let me tell you why.

I have been watching him play shortstop for the New York Yankees for over 15 years now. He is the ultimate TEAM player. You will never hear him put himself nor his own accomplishments ahead of the team winning a game. Unlike several other members of the Yankees, he would prefer to win a game than to go 4 for 5 at bat.

He works diligently on all of his skills and attributes. As he has grown older, his range and speed may have dissipated, but he has learned to compensate by being smarter and more knowledgeable about his position on the field. He studies the game. Consistently and constantly. On each and every pitch, he is aware of what he will do if the ball is hit to him. He is always mentally in the game.

He will do anything to perform well and gives his all. Who can forget the amount of times he has sacrificed his own body to make the play?

He has never, to my knowledge, gotten thrown out of a game or argued on and on with an umpire.
He has never made one derogatory statement about a teammate nor an opposing player. He has never gotten into a disagreement with a reporter.

He is always seen cheering on his teamates, positively offering advice to younger players, and never getting down on himself.

Off the field, Jeter has remained unmarried, has dated many famous women, yet has never been the subject of scandal nor controversy. No one he has ever met on nor off the field has anything but kind words about him.

I sincerely intend to live my life in this way in my chosen profession as well as when I'm "off the field". What an example he is to children who watch him play and also to bigger children like myself.

D.J. is a class act. He was clearly raised correctly. His parents, one African-American and the other Caucasian, have instilled in Jeter the true values, self-respect, and eloquence that he embodies.

Jeter will break Lou Gehrig's most hits as a Yankee in the next game the Yanks play as he is currently tied with Gehrig. It could not have happened to a more professional, kind, classy, and talented man. Even after last night's hit where he tied Gehrig's hit record he stated in an interview immediately after the game that he didn't wish to upstage the Yankees effort as they were losing at the time of his hit. He also added that he felt positively about the opposing players on the Tampa Bay team as they were cheering him on as he got up to bat citing that he never wanted to be disrespectful of them.

What more can I say about him?