Derek Jeter

I have this Jeter card, maybe
I can retire on it some day.

I was visiting my folks and Buffy in Greensboro, North Carolina in the summer of 1993. My sister was the young mother of two kids at that point but she acted like she was 40, which I guess responsibility and children will do to you.

"Leave your emotional vampires," I cajoled, "let's go to a baseball game."

Greensboro's War Memorial Stadium

The Greensboro Hornets were a Yankees Single-A franchise at the time (they're now the Greensboro Grasshoppers and affiliated with the Florida Marlins). Everyone knows I'm a huge Yankees fan and I heard about this phenom they'd drafted named Derek Jeter. Buffy relented, we got great seats behind the plate, ordered beers and sausage dogs (they had waitress service for the "gold seats" which is what I'm hoping heaven will be like) and settled in.

Buffy turned back into my fun-loving little sister as the game progressed and we both commented on how the skinny kid playing shortstop didn't really seem that impressive but hey, the sausage dogs were great and the beer was cold.

Here it is 18 years later, Buffy is celebrating her 23rd anniversary tomorrow (and the fact that her oldest emotional vampire is finally leaving the nest) and Derek Jeter has just gone 5-5 with a home run which just happened to be his 3,000th hit.

Imagine making your living doing this. I do.

Derek Jeter has lived my fantasy life. I'm not going to lie; I still dream of playing shortstop for the Yankees. I daydream about making diving catches or throwing off my back foot even though my shoulder is now so bad I can only throw underhanded. When I played baseball I was the lead off batter like Jeter, a singles or doubles guy who played hard and ran smart (though not so swiftly).

He has nice taste.

Between the lines I am a different person, fierce and unsmiling, hawkeyed and even somewhat graceful. Okay, I was. Jeter is me with more talent. And money. I'm proud of Jeter for avoiding the steroid scandal because I'd have avoided them too. I'm happy he didn't marry, instead choosing to date models and actresses, waitresses and party girls avoiding breaking anyone's heart. (Well, I don't understand why he dated Mariah Carey, but everyone makes mistakes.) Derek Jeter's a good man in the way that I hope I am.

I'm dreading when he eventually retires because that means that Derek Jeter is old, and if he's old, what am I? My little sister could very well be a grandmother when he hangs up his cleats. Good God.

 Téa, I need a hug.