On Jun. 3, 2003, Derek Jeter was crowned the 11th captain in the Yankees' long and illustrious history.
Long before the day that may rank at the top of his life’s proudest moments, Jeter was able to help lift a tiny Yankees fan back onto his feet.
Expecting to celebrate his 11th birthday on Nov. 26, 1996, a young boy sprinted out of his elementary school’s doors.
The excitement of the day nearly overtook him as he looked around for his mother’s car, knowing he was mere minutes away from cake, candles, and a pile of toys.
The boy heard a familiar voice call out to him from a familiar car. Neither the voice nor the car, however, belonged to his mother.
A friend of the family explained that the boy needed to get into the car with them, and that there wasn’t time to stop at home.
The boy’s house was no further than the distance traveled during the home run trot of his hero Don Mattingly, and he knew something had crushed his birthday dreams.
The boy’s house and most of his Yankees treasures had been left in ashes after an aggressive electrical fire.
That boy was me.
Though flames were not exactly the perfect gift for the occasion, material possessions could be replaced. The important thing was that no one was injured, and even the family cat somehow survived with no more than a cough.
As with all fires, some things could never be replaced. Accompanying antiques and family pictures on that list were a bevy of Yankees collectibles accumulated over the years.
At the youthful age of 11, children do not fully understand the impact of life’s misfortunes. So long as everyone is okay, the next essential on the list involves a favorite card, game, poster, or autograph.
The New York Yankees had just won the first World Series of my lifetime, and nothing else in the world mattered.
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