As I listened to the Yankee radio broadcast during today’s game, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman made a point that kind of stuck in my brain. To paraphrase, it went something like this:
When a car accident happens and kills multiple people, it’s sad. Everbody feels terrible. But if you know somebody in that crash, it immediately becomes real for you. It hurts in such a real way. Nobody else understands because they’re caught up in hearing the numbers. The same statistics they hear on the news every night. A car crash that killed 3. A double homicide in the projects. They become numb to the actual event, and in an inversion of sorts, the significance of the numbers diminishes the magnitude of the event.
Thanks to ESPN, CBS, NBC, MLB Network, Yahoo!, and whatever fantasy leagues millions of people are playing now, there is a greater number of fans who understand and grew up around statistics than ever before. They’re immersed in that culture every day. All day if they so choose. So, to some, it may seem that statistics don’t mean as much as they once did because now seven out of every ten people can recite last nights highlight reel. They’ve become numb to the stats and, in turn, numb to the game.
Three-thousand hits is an ungodly number. It’s out-of-this-world impressive. It’s the equivalent of the 600 HR club. Maybe even the 700 club. Only 28 players have ever done it. In the history of the game. Ever. If a player recorded 200 hits-per-season – which is nothing to sneeze at – it would still take 15 years to reach 3,000. 15 seasons. That’s how hard it is to do in today’s game. What’s the average shelf-life of a major leaguer these days? Five years? It takes more than your everyday starter to make a 15-year career. Jeter did it in 17. That doesn’t leave much room for error. Pretty impressive stuff if you ask me.
Now getting back to today’s milestone, not only did the captain get his 3,000, but he went 5-for-5 including the game-winning single in the eighth inning. Back to the numbers, Jeter hadn’t gone 5-for-5 since 2005 against the same Rays as he conquered today. The only other guy to do it? Craig Biggo in 2007 when he went 5-for-6. I’m sure plenty of people either knew or had some idea of where to find that out because of stats in the media. Again, people are used to stats. Sure, 5-for-5 is impressive especially since Jeter hadn’t done it in so long, but do any of us have any idea how hard it is to knock 5 hits in a game against no less than David Price, one of MLB’s premiere lefthanders? No, we don’t.
So what I’m saying is, before we get too hasty and get caught up in the numbers, we need to boil the game back down to the basics and remember what we’re watching. How quick the public is to downplay an achievement like Derek’s lately. If we stop and think about just how hard it actually is to accomplish what Derek has done, the majesty and awe of it begins to take root, and Yankee fan or not. It’s easy to appreciate that.
So what if Jeter is older (only 37), slower and weaker than he once was? Maybe he’s not having as good a season as the public might like for a 3,000 hit player, but that doesn’t mean his accomplishment is any less impressive. Derek deserves all the praise in the world for what he’s done.
He’s worked his entire life for it.
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