Derek Jeter: Love Him or Hate Him, All of Baseball Should Celebrate

The buzz of tonight's sports world is Derek Jeter's 3,000th career hit. To all of baseball, this is a monumental moment. In today's MLB, it's even more of one.

Between Roger Clemens' strikeouts, Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds' home runs, and many other feats that have been accomplished in baseball the past two decades—due in part to steroids—it's more than refreshing to see a big number put up by a clean player.

Leave it to an old vet to help bring the MLB out of the hole that is (and was) the steroid-era. Not even Clemens' trial, which started earlier in the week, could cloud-over this grand moment in the game's history.

To many fans around the league (like myself) Jeter is considered more of a villain, rather than a hero. You either love him or hate him, just like the organization he plays for. But even opposing fans in the AL East should have the utmost respect for him.

Another big aspect that should earn Jeter at least a fair amount of praise is the fact that he's been able to play in New York this long without some sort of dirt finding it's way into the Big Apple's many tabloids.

This is yet another difference between him and A-Rod. Though he may have had constant following through a short rehab assignment, he's earned everything he has received. We can't say that for many of the players that Jeter has played along side in the late 90's and early 2000's.

Yes, he doesn't deserve to be in the All-Star game based on his numbers this season—and those choices should be based on the current year's performance—but Asdrubal Cabrera and Johnny Peralta know they will never be what Jeter was, and occasionally still is.

So we celebrate this moment in the history of what has been labeled America's pastime. Players like Jeter and Jim Thome (approaching 600 home runs), both proven clean throughout their careers, are symbols of what has remained natural—in a highly artificial time—in this great game

Many young stars have emerged in this new age of baseball: Evan Longoria, Buster Posey, Ryan Braun, Joey Votto, Tim Lincecum, etc. But Jeter is one of few players that played in the last era, yet represents the traits of the new one.

So consider this a large part of a brand new start in baseball. As opponents of the "Evil Empire" we may despise him. But as a man, we should appreciate him and what he has done for the game. And salute him for staying cool, classy and clean.