Derek Jeter drove the first pitch he saw in the first inning into the first row in right center for a home run and a quick 1-0 Yankee lead off Tampa southpaw Matt Moore. The Yankee captain had returned to shortstop on Hideki Matsui day and passed Phil Rizzuto as the oldest Yankee to play shortstop.
For that brief respite in an otherwise uninspiring season Jeter evoked the memory of Mickey Mantle to such an extent that as I watched the HDTV and Jeter rounded the bases I yelled:
"Like The Mick!"
"Like The Mick!"
"Like The Mick!"
I couldn't help it, shaking my fist in the air as I watched and yelling as I have not in a long time.
The parallels are more symbolic and emotional than exact but the feeling was certainly similar. For an even older generation, it might have been the more general memory of Joltin' Joe DiMaggio emerging from his long absence from a heel injury in June 1949 to travel to Boston and personally pound the Red Sox into submission in all three games and help inspire that injury plagued Yankee team to the pennant and a World Series victory.
Jeter has certainly put the pressure on former best buddy and soon again to be teammate Alex Rodriguez and to a lesser extent Curtis Granderson. How can A-Rod's return top Jeter's, unless he homers with the bases loaded in the first inning or gets a walk off game winning hit as returned prodigal Alsonso Soriano, the Yankee traded to Texas for Rodriguez, did in actually winning yesterday's game with his fourth hit of the day in the bottom of the 9th?
Both Jeter and Rodriguez deserve more credit than they get. They are 39 and 38 years old respectively. Mantle in 1962 and DiMaggio in 1949 were 30 and 34. That's a huge difference in baseball. Jeter and Rodriguez work much harder at staying in shape and rehabilitating after injuries. Despite already being paid unimaginable sums of money Jeter and Rodriguez struggle to play on, apparently without need of the many millions due on their contracts.
As far as we know Jeter and Rodriguez keep reasonable hours during the season, don't smoke (maybe an occasional cigar by A-Rod) and do not abuse their bodies with recreational drugs. Mantle did not smoke but became an alcoholic. DiMaggio smoked and drank.
There's still time for the Yankees to claim at least that second wild card spot in the Major Baseball League (MBL) tournament. That's the one initially opposed by too long commissioner Allen Huber "Bud" Selig immediately following the naturally occurring play-in game in 2009 between Minnesota and Detroit.
A-Rod. A-Rod. Come back. (Listen to the closing lines in the 1953 western movie Shane.)
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