Yankees star Jeter to retire after 2014 season

0

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter says he
will retire after this season "with absolutely no regrets," ending one
of the greatest careers in the history of baseball’s most storied
franchise.
The 39-year-old New York captain posted a long letter on his Facebook page Wednesday saying that 2014
will be his final year.
A
13-time All-Star who has led the Yankees to five World Series
championships, Jeter was limited to 17 games last season while trying to
recover from a broken left ankle sustained during the 2012 playoffs.
"I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball," he
wrote.
"I have gotten the very most out of my life playing baseball, and I have absolutely no
regrets," he said.
Jeter
was the last link to the powerful Yankees teams that won three straight
World Series crowns from 1998-2000. Longtime teammates Mariano Rivera
and Andy Pettitte retired after last year.
"Last year was a tough
one for me. As I suffered through a bunch of injuries, I realized that
some of the things that always came easily to me and were always fun had
started to become a struggle," Jeter wrote. "The one thing I always
said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job,
it would be time to move forward."
"So really it was months ago
when I realized that this season would likely be my last. As I came to
this conclusion and shared it with my friends and family, they all told
me to hold off saying anything until I was absolutely 100 percent sure,"
he wrote.
"And the thing is, I could not be more sure," he wrote.
Jeter hit just .190 with one homer and seven RBIs last season.
His
agent, Casey Close, said Jeter wanted to declare his intentions before
the Yankees start spring training later this week so that his future
status wouldn’t be a distraction.
"I’m excited for him. It’s kind
of nice to see him go out on his own terms," Los Angeles Dodgers manager
Don Mattingly said at spring camp in Glendale, Ariz.
Mattingly finished up his All-Star career with the Yankees in 1995, the same season Jeter made his big
league debut.
"I
saw him when he first showed for spring training. I always think about
spring training when I think about him, just because he was this
17-year-old kid right out of high school who looked out of place. He was
skinny, but he was tough. He’s been winning since the day he got
there," Mattingly said.
Jeter is the Yankees’ career hits leader
with 3,316. He is a lifetime .312 hitter in 19 seasons, with 256 home
runs and 1,261 RBIs.
Jeter has scored 1,876 runs and stolen 348 bases. He also is a five-time Gold Glove winner.
But
No. 2 is defined by so much more than his numbers. His backhanded flip
in the playoffs, his diving catch into the stands, his speech to close
old Yankee Stadium and his home run for career hit No. 3,000.
An
October presence for so many years, he also became Mr. November with a
World Series home run in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, connecting for
a winning shot in the 10th inning shortly after midnight in a matchup
that began on Halloween.
Jeter was the AL Rookie of the Year in
1996, the season the Yankees won their first World Series and
re-established themselves as a major force. He was the MVP of the World
Series.
Jeter has said he’s fully ready for spring training this year and set to play.
Jeter
worked out at the Yankees’ spring training complex on Wednesday and
left around noon, giving no hint that he was about to announce his
plans.
Commissioner Bud Selig said that during his tenure, "Major League Baseball has had no finer
ambassador than Derek Jeter."
"Derek
has represented all the best of the national pastime, on and off the
field," Selig said in a statement. "He is one of the most accomplished
and memorable players of his — or any — era."
"Derek is the kind of person that generations have emulated proudly, and he remains an exemplary
face of our sport," he wrote.
A
staple for so long in the Yankees’ lineup, Jeter missed the first 91
games last year after setbacks in spring training and the early months
of the season.
Even after his 2013 debut, things didn’t go well.
Jeter felt pain in his right quadriceps when he returned July 11 and
again went on the disabled list.
Jeter returned July 28 for three
games, but strained his right calf. He played from Aug. 26 through Sept.
7, leaving for a pinch runner after hitting a single against Boston.
Four days later, the Yankees said Jeter was done for the year.
The Yankees will open the 2014 regular season on April 1 in Houston. Their home opener is April 7 against
Baltimore.
Like Rivera last year, Jeter is sure to be saluted wherever he goes in this final season.
"Now
it is time for the next chapter," he wrote. "There are many things I
want to do in business and in philanthropic work, in addition to
focusing more on my personal life and starting a family of my own. And I
want the ability to move at my own pace, see the world and finally have
a summer vacation."
"But before that, I want to soak in every
moment of every day this year, so I can remember it for the rest of my
life. And most importantly, I want to help the Yankees reach our goal of
winning another championship," he said.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.

No posts to display