Oh Captain, My Captain! Is Jeter One Of The Greatest Of All Time?

   On my way to work this morning I heard a so called "expert" refer to Derek Jeter as the sixth greatest Yankee of all time. I found that statement to be interesting and appalling at the same time. Sixth greatest Yankee? If that's the case, how does he rank amongst the all time greats?

As the Yankee Captain lined his historic base hit into right field tonight I began to think about Derek Jeter's place in baseball history. How can a player of Jeter's caliber be the sixth best of anything? What keeps him from being the greatest Yankee of all time? What keeps him from being considered one of the best ballplayers of all time?

Jeter ranks at or in the top five of most all time Yankee statistics including, batting average, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles etc. He's won four World Series titles in an era where it take 11 postseason wins. You get my point. So what's going to set Jeter apart from other great baseball players?

Then it hit me like a Randy Johnson fastball.

His reputation. He is respected throughout the game by players, coaches and General Managers for his demeanor and professionalism on the field and off. Players want to meet Jeter. Players look up to the Yankee shortstop. 

His squeaky clean imagine is a breath of fresh air in an era when athletes spend more time in the news for all the wrong reasons. Baseball could not have a better ambassador then Derek Jeter.

In 2003 , When George Steinbrenner decided to make Jeter the Yankees 11th captain in team history he said of his shortstop, "I cannot think of a single player that I have ever had who is more deserving of this honor then Derek Jeter."

Author Peter Richmond once said of Jeter, "He'd been summoned by the baseball gods; to carry the torch, to help save the team and the stadium and maybe even the game of baseball itself."

Perhaps Richmond is right. In the post steroid era Jeter remains the face of the Yankees and a role model for kids across the country.

When we speak of all time greats, Jeter has to be considered one of the greatest of all time because of the man he is and what he means to the game of baseball.