5 Years Ago Today

Derek Jeter famously hit a home run for his 3,000th hit, but I for one had totally forgotten that A-Rod did the same, on June 19, 2015. A few years earlier, I'd written this:

It'll be interesting to see how Yankee fans handle A-Rod's chase for 3,000 hits; he's only 238 away, meaning it could come as soon as the end of next season-ish.  Obviously Jeter is venerated in a unique way, and our celebrating his approaching milestone is also a way to bask in the 5 championships he helped bring the Yankees.  Meanwhile, a lot of people hate A-Rod for  not being Derek Jeter  flying jets into the World Trade Center, so I wonder if it will be somewhat muted.  Fans are possessive of Jeter's greatness, and tend to get agitated whenever A-Rod slides into the picture.  It also doesn't help that Jeter will be only the 10th player to get all 3,000 with one team, while A-Rod was in Seattle and Texas before joining the Yankees in 2004.  I'm also surprised A-Rod only has 300 more strikeouts than Jeter, which is less than 20/year.  Seems like a classic home run hitter would have way more than a singles slapper.  Also, that Kim Kardashian has some nice titties, doesn't she?

There's just something about remembering Jeter's every moment, and this might be why:

It’s hard to compare Saturday to a playoff game, and it might not be fair to compare it to a World Series clincher, but I can’t imagine forgetting a single thing about Jeter’s 3,000th. It wasn’t just the home run, it was everything that surrounded it. This was Jeter’s career played out in five at-bats. It was his talent and his legacy and his sense of the moment. A lot of people end up at the right place at the right time, but how many know exactly what to do when they get there? The fact that he admitted to his own vulnerability afterward made it all the more impressive.

For one afternoon, Jeter reminded everyone that he is, in fact, one of the greatest players any of us has ever seen. And I’ll never forget it.

“I just can think of only one person who can have a kind of day like today, at home” Alex Rodriguez said. “It’s Derek Jeter.”

BTW that post is worth revisiting solely for this:

Here's a picture of Russell Martin fucking the top of the dugout fence.

aaaaaand here's A-Rod's big moment...which nobody really remembers. :/

June 19, 2015: A-Rod goes deep to join the 3,000 hit club in style. pic.twitter.com/25YpDCa7nU

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 19, 2020