Derek Jeter knew one thing about his aching calf — it was the first of many signs that his days as the Yankees Captain were numbered.

The number two on his back will be retired when he tires of game — or when the game tells him his time is tired — and then we’ll see how a hero handles the hallows.

Jeter knew he didn’t have enough DiMaggio in him to quit while he was ahead and young and beloved.

No, he had to stick and dodge the pains of a breaking body in public for paycheck and a last stab at 3,000 hits of glory.

So now he sits, disabled on the bench, six smacks away from a primordial immortality that beckoned him, and then failed him, in the dimming of his days.

Was greatness thrust upon him; or did he create his own greatness?

Can a monument and a retired jersey number ever be enough of a legacy — or is the real tribute to the man the way he played his life off the field?

As a legend falls, we are left to ponder how he will get up again.

Will Derek Jeter rise to the call of 3,000 hits and do the right thing and stop?

Or will he continue his futile quest for the greatness of a lost man earned in the dying light of a fading career?

4 Comments

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      I’m not sure what you mean, Gordon. If he doesn’t run, he’ll risk being thrown out at first base and not get the hits.

      1. Surely he can hit it far enough to at least speed walk to first base before the ball gets back to him — or not? I’ve never seen someone try to just speed walk to first. 🙂

        1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
          David W. Boles says:

          Ha! I guess he could always try it, Gordon!

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