No script could have been written like this one. Derek Jeter, born in Pequannock, New Jersey and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, had one goal as a child, to become the shortstop for the New York Yankees. As his twenty-year career has now come to a close, he has cemented his place as one of the best baseball players ever to take the field.

Firstly, Derek Jeter was a fantastic player, and no one will argue, but it is not necessarily his amazing plays on the diamond that have earned him the respect of baseball fans across the world. Unlike many players of his day who have taken anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, Derek Jeter has played the game “the right way” ever since he first stepped on a major league field back on May 29, 1995 in Seattle. Additionally, according to Ted Berg of USA Today, Derek Jeter was always, “Running hard on every grounder, being a great teammate, working hard every day. Playing the game the right way.” As Ted Berg states in his article, Derek Jeter was a player that always tried his best and never let his fame get to him. Jeter also started his own foundation as a rookie, the Turn 2 Foundation, which has goals to turn teens away from drugs and alcohol and instead learn to live a healthy lifestyle. This further shows his character and desire to help others. He has always been a humble superstar, and people everywhere have become his fan as a result of his demeanor as a professional baseball player.

Furthermore, many young children just beginning the game of baseball have taken up Derek Jeter’s number two, myself being one of them when I was younger. Young baseball players take up his jersey number simply because he was and still is an idol to many kids. When he was just twenty years old, his manager brought him up to the big leagues and gave him a single digit jersey number, unheard of for such a young player. However, when questioned by the general manager about such a decision, Jeter’s coach Buck Showalter said that Derek would be a special player in the league and deserved the honor. Showalter’s response could not have been more accurate. Not only did he become a fantastic player in the league, but he also became a role model for countless fans and children. It was only fitting that the manager coaching the Baltimore Orioles on the other side of the diamond during Jeter’s final home game was the man who got Derek’s dream started in 1995.

Although Jeter may not step foot on a baseball field as a pro baseball player again, the respect people have for him will live on forever. One fan at his final home game proved this point with a sign that read, “My grandparents told me about Babe Ruth; I’ll tell my grandkids about Derek Jeter.” As this fan demonstrated in his poster at the game, Derek’s legacy will live on. This is something many players are not able say about their career in the majors. It was remarkable how he became a fantastic ballplayer and continually enjoyed playing the game he loved. He never let anything get to him and continually tried to go out and do his job each and every day. Therefore, there will never be another baseball player like Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees.