Olbermann crushes Jeter (1 Viewer)

[fantasycurse42]

As much as I dislike Olbermann, I agree with not caring about "Jeter's Farewell Tour". This is coming from someone who has been a Yankee fan their whole life, grew up on Jeter and the 5 rings they've won since I was 13.

Tickets are currently priced from $375 for the worst seats to $4-5k for Legends Seats for this last game. Like most people in NY, I could care less about a meaningless basbeball game at the end of September, so IDK who is even paying these prices. Great, I get to watch Jeter go 1-4 with a groundball single to finish off his career, just not seeing the excitement here

Also guaranteeing this is front page of both the Daily News and Post Friday.

Seat prices; https://www.stubhub.com/new-york-yankees-tickets/yankees-vs-orioles-9-25-2014-4378929/

 

[rodg12]

Pretty sure the farewell thing is not his doing other than playing so well that others want to do it for him. And no one more guilty than your employer, douchenozzle.

Yeah, you're probably right. The farewell thing was totally unavoidable. He just announced his retirement 8 months ahead of time like every other athlete does. Poor guy.

Who said anything about poor guy? There are nothing but positives for all involved with the exception of those who just need something to be bothered by. He doesn't have to dodge the question all season. People who want to see him one last time have that option. Ratings. Ticket sales for teams that don't sell that well. Positive press for baseball on the broader media stage. If for no other reason, it was his obligation to his sponsors to capitalize on the exposure. Of course he announced he was retiring.

You said "the farewell things is not his doing." Yeah he's not the one putting together the presentations, but he clearly wanted them to happen.

You're probably right though. It's a good thing he let everyone know ahead of time so he and the team wouldn't be bothered by distractions and could play their best baseball. Those distractions might have kept Jeter from putting up the monster .255/.303/.312 slash line with atrocious defense at a key position he's put up this season.

He's been a great player and has had a great career in which he mostly conducted himself well. But it's ridiculous to buy into this garbage narrative about him being a great unselfish man who doesn't want any of this attention. He's played SS and batted second and been in the lineup almost every day. None of those things are good for the team. They're good for Jeter, who at a minimum has acquiesced to the franchise putting him above the team this year- I haven't heard a single report of him asking to even move down in the lineup, a no-brainer move.

I don't really have a problem with that, but don't give me some nonsense narrative about how he's some shy guy who didn't want any of this and just wants to help the team. It's pretty clear the opposite is true.

LOL. You know they play in NY, right? Questions about Jeter's retirement rank reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally low on the 'distraction' scale for players.

 

[avoiding injuries]

With as big of a deal as MLB made of this farewell tour, it is interesting that they have him ending his career at Fenway and not at home.

I was at the ceremony for him at Camden Yards. It was awkward at best.

Schedule was out before he made the announcement

Well, then I'm surprised they didn't adjust the schedule once he announced it.

 

[TenTimes]

Tickets are currently priced from $375 for the worst seats to $4-5k for Legends Seats for this last game. Like most people in NY, I could care less about a meaningless basbeball game at the end of September, so IDK who is even paying these prices. Great, I get to watch Jeter go 1-4 with a groundball single to finish off his career, just not seeing the excitement here

Don't you want to be one of the 50k or so who can brag that they witnessed Jeter's final home game?!

 

[TobiasFunke]

Pretty sure the farewell thing is not his doing other than playing so well that others want to do it for him. And no one more guilty than your employer, douchenozzle.

Yeah, you're probably right. The farewell thing was totally unavoidable. He just announced his retirement 8 months ahead of time like every other athlete does. Poor guy.

Who said anything about poor guy? There are nothing but positives for all involved with the exception of those who just need something to be bothered by. He doesn't have to dodge the question all season. People who want to see him one last time have that option. Ratings. Ticket sales for teams that don't sell that well. Positive press for baseball on the broader media stage. If for no other reason, it was his obligation to his sponsors to capitalize on the exposure. Of course he announced he was retiring.

You said "the farewell things is not his doing." Yeah he's not the one putting together the presentations, but he clearly wanted them to happen.

You're probably right though. It's a good thing he let everyone know ahead of time so he and the team wouldn't be bothered by distractions and could play their best baseball. Those distractions might have kept Jeter from putting up the monster .255/.303/.312 slash line with atrocious defense at a key position he's put up this season.

He's been a great player and has had a great career in which he mostly conducted himself well. But it's ridiculous to buy into this garbage narrative about him being a great unselfish man who doesn't want any of this attention. He's played SS and batted second and been in the lineup almost every day. None of those things are good for the team. They're good for Jeter, who at a minimum has acquiesced to the franchise putting him above the team this year- I haven't heard a single report of him asking to even move down in the lineup, a no-brainer move.

I don't really have a problem with that, but don't give me some nonsense narrative about how he's some shy guy who didn't want any of this and just wants to help the team. It's pretty clear the opposite is true.

LOL. You know they play in NY, right? Questions about Jeter's retirement rank reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally low on the 'distraction' scale for players.

Yes. I was mocking the argument made in the previous post, which I bolded for you above.

 

[Apple Jack]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

 

[TobiasFunke]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they don't want to be reminded that this probably wouldn't be the Yankees last home game of the season if Jeter had retired last year instead of waiting until now.

 

[Apple Jack]

Yes. I was mocking the argument made in the previous post, which I bolded for you above.

Well, you tried anyway.

 

[NIU Kicker]

With as big of a deal as MLB made of this farewell tour, it is interesting that they have him ending his career at Fenway and not at home.

I was at the ceremony for him at Camden Yards. It was awkward at best.

Schedule was out before he made the announcement

Probably wouldn't have mattered. Check out the mini 30 in 30 ESPN did on the baseball schedule makers. MLB outsourced the making of the schedule to a bunch of MIT types and they are more interested in saving fuel then having the Yankees play at home for jeters last game. The old couple who used to pull it together factored in all sorts of special requests.

 

[fantasycurse42]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Should've retired well before this miserable 3/50 contract

I've been to 7 games this season... I don't see the need for an 8th.

 

[TobiasFunke]

With as big of a deal as MLB made of this farewell tour, it is interesting that they have him ending his career at Fenway and not at home.

I was at the ceremony for him at Camden Yards. It was awkward at best.

Schedule was out before he made the announcement

Probably wouldn't have mattered. Check out the mini 30 in 30 ESPN did on the baseball schedule makers. MLB outsourced the making of the schedule to a bunch of MIT types and they are more interested in saving fuel then having the Yankees play at home for jeters last game. The old couple who used to pull it together factored in all sorts of special requests.

They still accommodate special requests. The Red Sox are always at home on Patriot's Day. The Nats are always at home on July 4th. I'm sure there's some other ones I don't know about too.

I think this is actually pretty good timing for this kind of thing. Sunday baseball games in the fall kind of get lost in the shuffle with the NFL, plus on the off chance that the Yanks' playoff chance had gone down to the last weekend of the season you don't want that overshadowing the retirement. This way the event gets a much bigger spotlight.

 

[Apple Jack]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Should've retired well before this miserable 3/50 contract

I've been to 7 games this season... I don't see the need for an 8th.

Seven games??? That's super deluxe fan status. Never mind the herculean goalpost move there.

ETA: Going to need to see Legends Suite ticket stub pics before granting super deluxe fan status.

 

[jwb]

This overarching narrative that Jeter ISN'T THE BEST EVER YEAH I SAID IT is a bit silly, though. Who's Olbermann arguing with? Jorge Posada? Modern-day Yankees fans who, like any generation of diehards, overvalue the great they grew up with? Olbermann goes to great lengths to shoot down a Greatest Ever argument that, as far as I can tell, very few people are making.

A refreshing voice of reason.

Olbermann keeps shouting on Twitter about how ridiculous the notion is that Jeter is "the greatest ever", whatever the hell that means. So I keep asking him repeatedly to point out one reputable baseball man who claims that Jeter is "the greatest ever."

Nothing so far. I think he just enjoys refuting fictitious arguments.

Outside of apparently Posada, I haven't heard anyone say Jeter is the best ever. Jeter also pretty solidly in the top 8 Yankees of all time (Ruth, Gehrig, Joe D, Mantle, Whitey, Yogi, Mo, Jeter IMO). Nettles? Come on man.

And I love how he talks about Jeter having rarely led the league in any offensive categories, then talks about the 8 "major" categories he could have potentially led the Yanks in, but leaves out RUNS (ya know, because that would crush his entire argument). Counting stats matter when you're talking about what he could have led the league in, but apparently become irrelevant when discussing a player's career (3500 hits, 500 doubles, 250 HR, 1300 RBI, 350 SB don't matter because he didn't win any MVPs, and the seven top-10 MVP finishes don't mean a damn thing either).

The victory lap has certainly been overdone, but this is just KO trying to be different from everyone just for the sake of being different.

Yea, that's what this reeks of. He's trying really hard to find reasons to dismiss him.

He even went beyond Nettles and included Randolph and Mussina... is there any Yankee fan anywhere who puts those guys in the same breath as Jeter? It's almost comical.

Yes, the whole farewell tour is overdone, but he's definitely an all-time great. Deal with it, Keith. Having watched the Yankees for 40 years, I've never seen a player like him. There was something special about him that very first game in 96. This is what watching Joe D must have been like. And it's said a lot, but it really does go beyond the stats. When even opposing fans "get" the intangibles argument, that says something.

 

[Michael Brown]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they don't want to be reminded that this probably wouldn't be the Yankees last home game of the season if Jeter had retired last year instead of waiting until now.

I've made this comment before, and I know it sounds like Yankee fan arrogance but it's really the opposite.

I've seen the Yankees win five titles with Jeter. I grew up watching them struggle and fail to make the playoffs in the 80's and bumble their way through the early 90's. Obviously that wasn't anywhere near as bad as being say, a Pirates or Royals fan so you can all save the mocking woe is me jokes...but I do remember the bad times. If someone would have told 13-year-old Michael Brown that a player would be coming up within the next few years that would lead the team to 5 championships in 20 years and be a Hall of Famer and just basically be everything you wanted him to be, and there would be four guys who basically did it all together for two decades, I wouldn't care if they lost in his last season. And i still don't.

To me, last year and this year were as much about honoring what Mo and Jeter have meant to the team as winning. Do all Yankee fans agree with me? Of course not. Most people coldly care only about the current season and winning and all that. And that's actually the RIGHT way to think about it. I get it. But call me sentimental, but this is the end of an era and I care a lot more about seeing Jeter one last season than I do about winning another ring. Fans of the Indians would probably call me a d-bag now for eschewing a chance at a championship. And for sure, I'm not trying to say it's old hat. But once you see your team win once, and see it in person, and go to the parade, at least for me...what's important kinda shifts. You get attached to these guys, and they're in your living room or in person for two decades. You have memories of going to every Friday night game since you can remember, feeling the walls shake at the old place, going bananas every time Enter Sandman played, or believing that Jeter was going to get a big hit every single time he came up. I'm 35 now, and the next round of core Yankee players is likely to be young enough to be my kids (and probably aren't even in the organization yet). You don't "look up" to players who are 22 years old when you're middle aged yourself, so it'll totally feel different. Jeter and Mariano represent the last batch of Yankee superstars that will ever feel larger than life to me.

Of course I want the team to win, but I like to have more of a connection than just cheering for another ring at all costs. One of my favorite Yankee teams of all time is 2001, a year they didn't even win. That team gave me more memories over the course of a few weeks than most of the others did over six months. One of my favorite memories in all my years at the stadium was Mo's sendoff last year, a game we lost in a season where we failed to make the playoffs.

 

[Dondante]

The jealousy in this thread is palpable.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I personally think Jeter is the most overrated player of all time and this farewell tour is a complete farce but at Olbermann with this.

Badger!

 

[TobiasFunke]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they don't want to be reminded that this probably wouldn't be the Yankees last home game of the season if Jeter had retired last year instead of waiting until now.

I've made this comment before, and I know it sounds like Yankee fan arrogance but it's really the opposite.

I've seen the Yankees win five titles with Jeter. I grew up watching them struggle and fail to make the playoffs in the 80's and bumble their way through the early 90's. Obviously that wasn't anywhere near as bad as being say, a Pirates or Royals fan so you can all save the mocking woe is me jokes...but I do remember the bad times. If someone would have told 13-year-old Michael Brown that a player would be coming up within the next few years that would lead the team to 5 championships in 20 years and be a Hall of Famer and just basically be everything you wanted him to be, and there would be four guys who basically did it all together for two decades, I wouldn't care if they lost in his last season. And i still don't.

To me, last year and this year were as much about honoring what Mo and Jeter have meant to the team as winning. Do all Yankee fans agree with me? Of course not. Most people coldly care only about the current season and winning and all that. And that's actually the RIGHT way to think about it. I get it. But call me sentimental, but this is the end of an era and I care a lot more about seeing Jeter one last season than I do about winning another ring. Fans of the Indians would probably call me a d-bag now for eschewing a chance at a championship. And for sure, I'm not trying to say it's old hat. But once you see your team win once, and see it in person, and go to the parade, at least for me...what's important kinda shifts. You get attached to these guys, and they're in your living room or in person for two decades. You have memories of going to every Friday night game since you can remember, feeling the walls shake at the old place, going bananas every time Enter Sandman played, or believing that Jeter was going to get a big hit every single time he came up. I'm 35 now, and the next round of core Yankee players is likely to be young enough to be my kids (and probably aren't even in the organization yet). You don't "look up" to players who are 22 years old when you're middle aged yourself, so it'll totally feel different. Jeter and Mariano represent the last batch of Yankee superstars that will ever feel larger than life to me.

Of course I want the team to win, but I like to have more of a connection than just cheering for another ring at all costs. One of my favorite Yankee teams of all time is 2001, a year they didn't even win. That team gave me more memories over the course of a few weeks than most of the others did over six months. One of my favorite memories in all my years at the stadium was Mo's sendoff last year, a game we lost in a season where we failed to make the playoffs.

I get that, or at least I can sort of understand it (I certainly can't relate). I don't have a problem with they way they've done things at all. I only have a problem with people praising Jeter as unselfish and shying away from the spotlight and putting the team first, because that's clearly not the case this season. Which, again, is just fine. The fans clearly seem to be up for it and enjoying it, for the most part.

Also I was mostly just firing back at someone's post claiming that a person wasn't a "true fan" if he didn't really get the overwhelming desire to be there. I don't really get people passing judgment on other sports fans, seems kinda silly.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

I personally think Jeter is the most overrated player of all time and this farewell tour is a complete farce but at Olbermann with this.

on both counts.

[/thread]

 

[Dondante]

I personally think Jeter is the most overrated player of all time and this farewell tour is a complete farce but at Olbermann with this.

on both counts.

[/thread]

Right position (for the most part). Wrong AL East team. Ripken hands down.

 

[jwb]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they don't want to be reminded that this probably wouldn't be the Yankees last home game of the season if Jeter had retired last year instead of waiting until now.

I've made this comment before, and I know it sounds like Yankee fan arrogance but it's really the opposite.

I've seen the Yankees win five titles with Jeter. I grew up watching them struggle and fail to make the playoffs in the 80's and bumble their way through the early 90's. Obviously that wasn't anywhere near as bad as being say, a Pirates or Royals fan so you can all save the mocking woe is me jokes...but I do remember the bad times. If someone would have told 13-year-old Michael Brown that a player would be coming up within the next few years that would lead the team to 5 championships in 20 years and be a Hall of Famer and just basically be everything you wanted him to be, and there would be four guys who basically did it all together for two decades, I wouldn't care if they lost in his last season. And i still don't.

To me, last year and this year were as much about honoring what Mo and Jeter have meant to the team as winning. Do all Yankee fans agree with me? Of course not. Most people coldly care only about the current season and winning and all that. And that's actually the RIGHT way to think about it. I get it. But call me sentimental, but this is the end of an era and I care a lot more about seeing Jeter one last season than I do about winning another ring. Fans of the Indians would probably call me a d-bag now for eschewing a chance at a championship. And for sure, I'm not trying to say it's old hat. But once you see your team win once, and see it in person, and go to the parade, at least for me...what's important kinda shifts. You get attached to these guys, and they're in your living room or in person for two decades. You have memories of going to every Friday night game since you can remember, feeling the walls shake at the old place, going bananas every time Enter Sandman played, or believing that Jeter was going to get a big hit every single time he came up. I'm 35 now, and the next round of core Yankee players is likely to be young enough to be my kids (and probably aren't even in the organization yet). You don't "look up" to players who are 22 years old when you're middle aged yourself, so it'll totally feel different. Jeter and Mariano represent the last batch of Yankee superstars that will ever feel larger than life to me.

Of course I want the team to win, but I like to have more of a connection than just cheering for another ring at all costs. One of my favorite Yankee teams of all time is 2001, a year they didn't even win. That team gave me more memories over the course of a few weeks than most of the others did over six months. One of my favorite memories in all my years at the stadium was Mo's sendoff last year, a game we lost in a season where we failed to make the playoffs.

I get that, or at least I can sort of understand it (I certainly can't relate). I don't have a problem with they way they've done things at all. I only have a problem with people praising Jeter as unselfish and shying away from the spotlight and putting the team first, because that's clearly not the case this season. Which, again, is just fine. The fans clearly seem to be up for it and enjoying it, for the most part.

Also I was mostly just firing back at someone's post claiming that a person wasn't a "true fan" if he didn't really get the overwhelming desire to be there. I don't really get people passing judgment on other sports fans, seems kinda silly.

I would dispute that a bit - they don't have anybody else better for SS. Could they have signed / traded for someone better? Sure, but you can say that about 25 other teams too.

He's not the hitter he was, but their lineup is hardly imposing this year. Could they move him down? Maybe. But it probably doesn't make enough difference to do such.

Yankee fans are fine with it - nobody is thinking he's hurting the team in any way.

 

[fantasycurse42]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Should've retired well before this miserable 3/50 contract

I've been to 7 games this season... I don't see the need for an 8th.

Seven games??? That's super deluxe fan status. Never mind the herculean goalpost move there.

ETA: Going to need to see Legends Suite ticket stub pics before granting super deluxe fan status.

A) Only one Legends Seats game this year but hear you go chief http://i.imgur.com/LIGPCki.jpg

B) This game will hold no memorable status IMO. The game I went to on 10/16/03, that is a memorable game I will tell my kid about, not some 1-4 Jeter game in September when the Yankees were basically eliminated.

 

[Michael Brown]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they don't want to be reminded that this probably wouldn't be the Yankees last home game of the season if Jeter had retired last year instead of waiting until now.

I've made this comment before, and I know it sounds like Yankee fan arrogance but it's really the opposite.

I've seen the Yankees win five titles with Jeter. I grew up watching them struggle and fail to make the playoffs in the 80's and bumble their way through the early 90's. Obviously that wasn't anywhere near as bad as being say, a Pirates or Royals fan so you can all save the mocking woe is me jokes...but I do remember the bad times. If someone would have told 13-year-old Michael Brown that a player would be coming up within the next few years that would lead the team to 5 championships in 20 years and be a Hall of Famer and just basically be everything you wanted him to be, and there would be four guys who basically did it all together for two decades, I wouldn't care if they lost in his last season. And i still don't.

To me, last year and this year were as much about honoring what Mo and Jeter have meant to the team as winning. Do all Yankee fans agree with me? Of course not. Most people coldly care only about the current season and winning and all that. And that's actually the RIGHT way to think about it. I get it. But call me sentimental, but this is the end of an era and I care a lot more about seeing Jeter one last season than I do about winning another ring. Fans of the Indians would probably call me a d-bag now for eschewing a chance at a championship. And for sure, I'm not trying to say it's old hat. But once you see your team win once, and see it in person, and go to the parade, at least for me...what's important kinda shifts. You get attached to these guys, and they're in your living room or in person for two decades. You have memories of going to every Friday night game since you can remember, feeling the walls shake at the old place, going bananas every time Enter Sandman played, or believing that Jeter was going to get a big hit every single time he came up. I'm 35 now, and the next round of core Yankee players is likely to be young enough to be my kids (and probably aren't even in the organization yet). You don't "look up" to players who are 22 years old when you're middle aged yourself, so it'll totally feel different. Jeter and Mariano represent the last batch of Yankee superstars that will ever feel larger than life to me.

Of course I want the team to win, but I like to have more of a connection than just cheering for another ring at all costs. One of my favorite Yankee teams of all time is 2001, a year they didn't even win. That team gave me more memories over the course of a few weeks than most of the others did over six months. One of my favorite memories in all my years at the stadium was Mo's sendoff last year, a game we lost in a season where we failed to make the playoffs.

I get that, or at least I can sort of understand it (I certainly can't relate). I don't have a problem with they way they've done things at all. I only have a problem with people praising Jeter as unselfish and shying away from the spotlight and putting the team first, because that's clearly not the case this season. Which, again, is just fine. The fans clearly seem to be up for it and enjoying it, for the most part.

Also I was mostly just firing back at someone's post claiming that a person wasn't a "true fan" if he didn't really get the overwhelming desire to be there. I don't really get people passing judgment on other sports fans, seems kinda silly.

Yeah, the whole victory lap thing seems a bit out of character for him but again as much as we think we do, nobody in this city REALLY knows what the hell he's like. I completely agree, when he retired I always thought it would be a press conference at the stadium sometime after the World Series. But hey maybe he saw Mariano's treatment and wanted in on that. Can't blame him for that, but I agree we also can't pretend like this whole thing has been done for unselfish reasons.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Do all Yankee fans agree with me? Of course not. Most people coldly care only about the current season and winning and all that.

For players it is all about the money, so as a fan I'm in the same boat, it is all about winning. I was not happy when he signed his last contract, it was not a good deal at all for a Yankees fan. You pay a player on what you anticipate he will do, not to thank him for what he has done. His latest contract has not helped the Yankees in the slightest. I'm a fan, have a Jeter jersey, and all the respect in the world for the guy, but the $50MM he has been gifted over the last 3 seasons is all the thanking I think he needs.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I don't read a lot of baseball coverage, but I've never gotten the impression that the media portrayed Jeter as shy and retiring. That's not really part and parcel of being "the Captain." Leaders aren't shy. It doesn't seem surprising to me that Jeter gets a farewell tour. He's the last link to some historically great teams.

Keith was just being Keith, but so many of the criticisms are silly. Jeter didn't take himself out of the lineup or move himself down? When was Jeter hired to manage the Yankees?

 

[Tom Servo]

I personally think Jeter is the most overrated player of all time and this farewell tour is a complete farce but at Olbermann with this.

He's definitely overrated by the casual fans. He's one of the best SS of all-time and an easy Hall of Famer, but if there really are people claiming he's the best of all-time, then yeah by definition that's overrated. I think casual fans assume that since he's so famous that he must be the best. But I think most knowledgeable baseball fans understand his proper place in the game and rate him properly.

Ozzie Smith down? GDB you Yankee homers...

 

[Tom Servo]

Not a Yankees fan or Jeter fan at all here...

...but KO's rant is why fantasy sports has ruined real sports. Jeter's greatness isn't summed up in his stats.

Dave Concepcion is one of the greatest Cincinnati Reds, yet his stats aren't anything a fantasy baseball player would give two ####s about.

Yankee fans and Jeter fans, enjoy this momment for what it's worth, and KO needs to go #### himself.

And see, this kinda stuff makes Jeter seem underrated. Not trying to pick on you especially since we're mostly on the same side of this debate, but this is along the lines of the whole "Jeter's intangibles" thing that we've heard for 20 years. That word is so overused with him. People use the word 'intangibles' to try to sum up his greatness, as if there's no other way to measure him. But he's got 3500 hits, 1900 runs, 500 doubles, 250 HR, 1300 RBI, 350 SB, and is a career .310 hitter. It's intangibles, sure. But it's also very much the tangibles!

But he's struck out the most times of anyone with 12,000+ at bats. But, "clutch".

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Really surprised he didn't stop at Alba. Gotta marry-up that one. I mean, they are all stunners, but she seems like a genuinely sweet person as well.

She's also rich as #### now.

 

[Tom Servo]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they don't want to be reminded that this probably wouldn't be the Yankees last home game of the season if Jeter had retired last year instead of waiting until now.

I've made this comment before, and I know it sounds like Yankee fan arrogance but it's really the opposite.

I've seen the Yankees win five titles with Jeter. I grew up watching them struggle and fail to make the playoffs in the 80's and bumble their way through the early 90's. Obviously that wasn't anywhere near as bad as being say, a Pirates or Royals fan so you can all save the mocking woe is me jokes...but I do remember the bad times. If someone would have told 13-year-old Michael Brown that a player would be coming up within the next few years that would lead the team to 5 championships in 20 years and be a Hall of Famer and just basically be everything you wanted him to be, and there would be four guys who basically did it all together for two decades, I wouldn't care if they lost in his last season. And i still don't.

To me, last year and this year were as much about honoring what Mo and Jeter have meant to the team as winning. Do all Yankee fans agree with me? Of course not. Most people coldly care only about the current season and winning and all that. And that's actually the RIGHT way to think about it. I get it. But call me sentimental, but this is the end of an era and I care a lot more about seeing Jeter one last season than I do about winning another ring. Fans of the Indians would probably call me a d-bag now for eschewing a chance at a championship. And for sure, I'm not trying to say it's old hat. But once you see your team win once, and see it in person, and go to the parade, at least for me...what's important kinda shifts. You get attached to these guys, and they're in your living room or in person for two decades. You have memories of going to every Friday night game since you can remember, feeling the walls shake at the old place, going bananas every time Enter Sandman played, or believing that Jeter was going to get a big hit every single time he came up. I'm 35 now, and the next round of core Yankee players is likely to be young enough to be my kids (and probably aren't even in the organization yet). You don't "look up" to players who are 22 years old when you're middle aged yourself, so it'll totally feel different. Jeter and Mariano represent the last batch of Yankee superstars that will ever feel larger than life to me.

Of course I want the team to win, but I like to have more of a connection than just cheering for another ring at all costs. One of my favorite Yankee teams of all time is 2001, a year they didn't even win. That team gave me more memories over the course of a few weeks than most of the others did over six months. One of my favorite memories in all my years at the stadium was Mo's sendoff last year, a game we lost in a season where we failed to make the playoffs.

I get that, or at least I can sort of understand it (I certainly can't relate). I don't have a problem with they way they've done things at all. I only have a problem with people praising Jeter as unselfish and shying away from the spotlight and putting the team first, because that's clearly not the case this season. Which, again, is just fine. The fans clearly seem to be up for it and enjoying it, for the most part.

Also I was mostly just firing back at someone's post claiming that a person wasn't a "true fan" if he didn't really get the overwhelming desire to be there. I don't really get people passing judgment on other sports fans, seems kinda silly.

Let's also not forget that Jeter - with one of the worst ranges for a SS - REFUSED to move to 3b so ARod could play there. But, yes, he's "unselfish".

 

[TobiasFunke]

I don't read a lot of baseball coverage, but I've never gotten the impression that the media portrayed Jeter as shy and retiring. That's not really part and parcel of being "the Captain." Leaders aren't shy. It doesn't seem surprising to me that Jeter gets a farewell tour. He's the last link to some historically great teams.

Keith was just being Keith, but so many of the criticisms are silly. Jeter didn't take himself out of the lineup or move himself down? When was Jeter hired to manage the Yankees?

He's never been the manager or the GM of the Yankees, but that hasn't stopped people from giving him undue credit for somehow "willing those teams to win" through his "leadership on and off the field" in the past. Now personally I think that stuff is about 99% bull####- I think those Yankee teams would have been just as successful if you replace Jeter with a guy who replicated his numbers but was a horrible, selfish dooshbag. My point is that if you're one of the people who actually does believe in that nonsense about "intangibles" and "leadership" and whatnot you have to reconcile it with this season.

ETA: And as Servo points out, even though Jeter isn't the manager or GM he clearly has used his status to force their hands into less-than-optimal decisions in the past.

 

[datonn]

http://cdn.pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/files/2011/06/new_yorker_flyover_cover_6-26-11.jpg

The thing that annoys me about the whole Derek Jeter farewell tour has nothing to do with how great of a player he is/was. Rather, it's because if he were putting on any other uniform in MLB other than a Yankees uniform, folks wouldn't have been making 1/10th as big of a deal about it/him.

Kind of like watching ESPN and their coverage of the NFL. The Giants and Jets get disproportional coverage compared to the rest of the league...even when they suck. And the Patriots?! Fuh-ged-dah-bow-dit. Though the Red Sox and Celtics get more coverage than they should too...but coverage of the Patriots dwarfs the rest. As if the other ~275 million of us are really supposed to care.

 

[Politician Spock]

I'm still waiting for the Reds to give this guy his farewell tour: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mottoch01.shtml

He was picked right before Jeter in the draft.

 

[Eminence]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Should've retired well before this miserable 3/50 contract

I've been to 7 games this season... I don't see the need for an 8th.

Seven games??? That's super deluxe fan status. Never mind the herculean goalpost move there.

ETA: Going to need to see Legends Suite ticket stub pics before granting super deluxe fan status.

A) Only one Legends Seats game this year but hear you go chief http://i.imgur.com/LIGPCki.jpg

B) This game will hold no memorable status IMO. The game I went to on 10/16/03, that is a memorable game I will tell my kid about, not some 1-4 Jeter game in September when the Yankees were basically eliminated.

Wow, you really are the man!

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

I personally think Jeter is the most overrated player of all time and this farewell tour is a complete farce but at Olbermann with this.

Badger!

Hey buddy

 

[TobiasFunke]

I'm still waiting for the Reds to give this guy his farewell tour: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mottoch01.shtml

He was picked right before Jeter in the draft.

The Yankees took somebody named Matt Drews instead of Chris Carpenter, Derrek Lee, Torii Hunter and Jason Varitek the very next year.

It happens every year in every sport, but especially in baseball. Get over it.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

This overarching narrative that Jeter ISN'T THE BEST EVER YEAH I SAID IT is a bit silly, though. Who's Olbermann arguing with? Jorge Posada? Modern-day Yankees fans who, like any generation of diehards, overvalue the great they grew up with? Olbermann goes to great lengths to shoot down a Greatest Ever argument that, as far as I can tell, very few people are making.

A refreshing voice of reason.

Olbermann keeps shouting on Twitter about how ridiculous the notion is that Jeter is "the greatest ever", whatever the hell that means. So I keep asking him repeatedly to point out one reputable baseball man who claims that Jeter is "the greatest ever."

Nothing so far. I think he just enjoys refuting fictitious arguments.

Outside of apparently Posada, I haven't heard anyone say Jeter is the best ever. Jeter also pretty solidly in the top 8 Yankees of all time (Ruth, Gehrig, Joe D, Mantle, Whitey, Yogi, Mo, Jeter IMO). Nettles? Come on man.

And I love how he talks about Jeter having rarely led the league in any offensive categories, then talks about the 8 "major" categories he could have potentially led the Yanks in, but leaves out RUNS (ya know, because that would crush his entire argument). Counting stats matter when you're talking about what he could have led the league in, but apparently become irrelevant when discussing a player's career (3500 hits, 500 doubles, 250 HR, 1300 RBI, 350 SB don't matter because he didn't win any MVPs, and the seven top-10 MVP finishes don't mean a damn thing either).

The victory lap has certainly been overdone, but this is just KO trying to be different from everyone just for the sake of being different.

The victory lap probably isn't even overdone when you also consider that he's likely the biggest "star" in baseball. His retirement will leave a major gap in the league's marketability and exposure outside of the game itself. He's likely only second to Peyton Manning as far as television commercials, Saturday Night Live hosting, etc. in all of sports.

As a player he was never the most dominant player in the game, but he was still an impactful player who was very instrumental to the Yankees successful run over the last 20 years.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they don't want to be reminded that this probably wouldn't be the Yankees last home game of the season if Jeter had retired last year instead of waiting until now.

Because Stephen Drew would have led them to the playoffs?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Do all Yankee fans agree with me? Of course not. Most people coldly care only about the current season and winning and all that.

For players it is all about the money, so as a fan I'm in the same boat, it is all about winning. I was not happy when he signed his last contract, it was not a good deal at all for a Yankees fan. You pay a player on what you anticipate he will do, not to thank him for what he has done. His latest contract has not helped the Yankees in the slightest. I'm a fan, have a Jeter jersey, and all the respect in the world for the guy, but the $50MM he has been gifted over the last 3 seasons is all the thanking I think he needs.

He also helps make the team a lot of money, and (over) paying him doesn't keep the Yankees from signing any other player they may want - so who cares?

 

[packersfan]

Definitely the GOAT of pulling tail. No contest. End of story. Damn *******.

Wasn't there a pole here comparing Jeter and Scott Baio? I seem to recall the case for Baio was a pretty compelling one.

Jeter's definitely no slouch, though. Guy's d**k should be bronzed.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

While we're at it, JOHN WOCKENFUSS IS NOT THE GREATEST TIGER EVER!!!

Been wanting to get that off my chest.

im sorry but its JOHNY B. WOCKENFUSS

and he is

 

[Tau837]

Outside of apparently Posada, I haven't heard anyone say Jeter is the best ever. Jeter also pretty solidly in the top 8 Yankees of all time (Ruth, Gehrig, Joe D, Mantle, Whitey, Yogi, Mo, Jeter IMO).

By pretty solidly in the top 8 Yankees of all time, you mean he is a distant #8, right?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Outside of apparently Posada, I haven't heard anyone say Jeter is the best ever. Jeter also pretty solidly in the top 8 Yankees of all time (Ruth, Gehrig, Joe D, Mantle, Whitey, Yogi, Mo, Jeter IMO).

By pretty solidly in the top 8 Yankees of all time, you mean he is a distant #8, right?

No, it would just mean he's solidly ahead of #9 and #10 - but I'm not sure how one could really determine any of that accurately.

 

[TobiasFunke]

at claiming to be a Yankee fan but not understanding why anybody would want to be on-hand for Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they don't want to be reminded that this probably wouldn't be the Yankees last home game of the season if Jeter had retired last year instead of waiting until now.

Because Stephen Drew would have led them to the playoffs?

Jhonny Peralta probably would have.

 

[dschuler]

Keith Odormann's a moron. How can he say this thing is overblown when the only thing his network has covered the last 6 weeks is Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson? No credibility in this guy, if ESPN was smart they would can him like MSNBC did.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

So they're crushing positive stories nowadays too? Haven't we had enough violent crime stories recently to just enjoy something? "But I disagree with x, y and z!". Good for you.

 

[TenTimes]

Definitely the GOAT of pulling tail. No contest. End of story. Damn *******.

Wasn't there a pole here comparing Jeter and Scott Baio? I seem to recall the case for Baio was a pretty compelling one.

Jeter's definitely no slouch, though. Guy's d**k should be bronzed.

RE2PECT

 

[jon_mx]

Nothing so far. I think he just enjoys refuting fictitious arguments.

Has anyone ever seen Tim and KO in the same room togehter.

 

[Smack Tripper]

In the stadium right now.

Craning my neck for a look at greatness, and a last sweet look at a legacy and level of excellence I'll never forget, and an Indeliable legacy. The finest "2" this stadium has ever seen, if you will.

But I have not as yet seen Meredith marakovits

 

[rodg12]

Much better take...

Keri on Jeter

Top 5 SS. Top 6 Yankee. Top 50 player. Sounds right.

 

[pantherclub]

Whose had the best?

Jeter or John Mayer?

 

[jon_mx]

Not a Yankees fan or Jeter fan at all here...

...but KO's rant is why fantasy sports has ruined real sports. Jeter's greatness isn't summed up in his stats.

Dave Concepcion is one of the greatest Cincinnati Reds, yet his stats aren't anything a fantasy baseball player would give two ####s about.

Yankee fans and Jeter fans, enjoy this momment for what it's worth, and KO needs to go #### himself.

I agree, as long as there is no chance of him reproducing.