Critics tend to rely on straw man arguments claiming Jeter wasn’t the very best. No one in the Hall of Fame was the very best at every hitting or fielding measurement all the time either.
Neither Jeter nor the Yankees have ever proclaimed he was the greatest player of all time, let alone of the franchise.
On Opening Day 2002, Christie Lee Wilcox earned herself a criminal trespass charge when she jumped out of the third-base stands to rush to the shortstop with a piece of paper with her phone number on it.
But in addition to being a really damn good hitter and making some jaw-droppingly stunning plays that have earned him a guaranteed spot in Cooperstown, Jeter charmed the New York sports media, whose glare ranges from irritating to debilitating (hey there, A-Rod).
And, as the Post and the Daily News started taking notice of the 22-year-old Kalamazoo native in 1996 (the year he’d cruise to American League Rookie of the Year), the Big Apple found its new celebrity crush.
As the Keith Olbermanns of the world have made abundantly clear in their vitriolic responses to the outpouring of Jeter tributes, Mr.
November was neither the best hitter nor fielder during his 20 years in baseball.
That one seemed a bit far-fetched anyways because, as author Chris Smith notes, “Even if Jeter were cheesy enough to have handed out souvenirs, he’s far too careful to have made that kind of mistake.”Besides, the gift bag peccadillo is the least skeevy of Jeter’s alleged bedroom behavior.
And even that rumor isn’t nearly as cringe-inducing as the Captain’s alleged habit of softly cheering himself on with a “Yeah, Jeets” when women are going down on his Louisville Slugger, so to speak.
Not that Jeter hasn't had Gisele-calibur ladies in his past.
As mentioned above, he has racked up an impressive list of celebrity ladies.
Jeter’s rumored/reported dating history suggests that he’s a total playboy who seemingly discards inimitably hot women in the same manner the Yankees dump healthy, young prospects.
Yet, while watching A-Rod go through Madonna, Cameron Diaz, and Kate Hudson added a faint layer of horndog to his overall reputation as a 2 million jerk-off, Jeter has managed to avoid the Lothario label.
Hell, even Tom Brady has admitted to man-crushing on Derek Jeter.