I’m not going to lie, Derek Jeter was never my favorite member of the Core Four Five. I certainly appreciate his greatness and status as an all-time great player and Yankee, but I was always partial to Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. That’s just me. Posada and Rivera (and Andy Pettitte) had their days the last few years. Today is Jeter’s day.
It was never a question of “if” the Yankees would retire Jeter’s number, of course. It was only a matter of “when.” Jeter is the greatest Yankee of my lifetime and he’s on the short list of the best shortstops in baseball history.