On September 28^th, one of the greatest baseball players to ever step foot on a field retired. According to Derek Jeter, he had the greatest job in the world playing shortstop and being Captain for the New York Yankees. To many fans the retirement of Derek Jeter was long anticipated and expected. After the 2013 season, he stated that he had one year left in him and would retire following the 2014 season. He said, “The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward”. Fans knew that this day would eventually come, but it was still hard to step away from the show he put on for so many years and face the reality that was soon to come. It was tough; not only for fans, but also for Jeter who was walking away from an illustrious career. Derek Jeter was his own biggest critic and knew sadly that it was the right time to step away.

Although he lost the motivation to play after 20 years, he did not lose the motivation to inspire people off the field. Many look up to Jeter as the perfect role model for children and young adults. Jeter stays out of trouble and remains classy every day. The way he composed himself every game was an honor to watch as a spectator. In addition to inspiring people off the field, he offers a guideline to fellow athletes playing baseball or any sport for that matter. It seems that the man gave more and more as the years went on, but unfortunately everything comes to an end. The shortstop gave fans a ride of success that many will never forget. Jeter has returned Yankees fans 5 World Series wins, 13 All-Star Game selections and he is the only Yankee to reach the 3,000 hit club during his career. These statistics are an incredible feat for any athlete playing any sport. As a testament to his natural greatness, he earned the nicknames “Captain Clutch” and “Mr. November”.

With all success aside, Derek Jeter wanted to finish his career with a bang, and he did just that. In his final at Yankee stadium, Jeter finished the game 2-5 with three runs batted in and one run scored. His last hit though came in the ninth inning when the Yankees needed him most. The game was tied 5-5, and Jeter was up at bat. Knowing this might be his last at bat ever in the stadium, he made the most of it. On the first pitch he swung and hit a walk-off single that scored the game winning run. No one could have written a better script for “The Captain” to go out to.