Derek Jeter is known for his outstanding play on the baseball field. He finished his career with a .310 batting average, 12,602 plate appearances and ranked sixth on the all time hits list. He is one of the all time greats to play America’s pastime.

What people may not know about him, though, is that he is also a genuine person off of the field. He is one of the few athletes in today’s world to demonstrate class, respect and honesty in the community.

Classiness wins championships.

It all starts on game days. Before going out to warm up his swings at batting practice, he thanks each and every clubhouse equipment manager for the jobs that they do during the day to help prepare the team for competition.

Most professional athletes never even acknowledge their fellow staff members.

Also, not one time during his twenty-year career did Jeter get in trouble with the law. Today, we hear about domestic violence in the National Football League (NFL), illegal relations in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and drug overdose in Major League Baseball (MLB).

He was never once a part of that.

He won five titles and made loads of memories on the field, but he always will be remembered for the example he set off the field.

Everyone should strive to be like Jeter. All aspiring students, athletes, business workers, hair designers, teachers, etc need to make an impact in order to succeed in today’s society.

As the world has found out, people that lie and cheat do not prosper in life. They may succeed and thrive for the short term, but when they become discovered, nobody forgets the negative actions that they committed.

The negatives always outweigh the positives in people’s brains. Jeter left a positive impact. He will always be remembered for that.

The courage to give back

As illustrated in a Television commercial put out by Gatorade, Jeter loves to give back to his community. On the daily, he walks to his games, meeting fans along the way, visits New York restaurants just as if he was an average human being and even thanks construction workers for doing a great job.

He is one of the few athletes that has the courage to give back. Once an athlete hits star status, it is very easy for them to become lost in the fame and forget about the routes of the place that is home.

Jeter never felt like a part of that. He always put his New York community first.

Also, now that he is a retired man, he is taking his attitude toward life and publishing it for the world. He wants to help share his way of thinking so that sports fans can all live in a better place.

He started The Players’ Tribune. His vision is for high profile athletes to post their views on issues that arise.

The blog is a way for fans to connect to players in a way that they never have before.

In starting this website, Jeter once again gives back to his community. As a huge sports fan, a blog where players speak directly to fans is genius. It provides wonderful insight on what goes on when players are not competing.

Time to Re2pect

Baseball fans are beyond lucky to have been alive to witness one of the most respected baseball players and people of all time. Jeter has hit icon status.

He was not the best player ever, and only hit one grand slam over twenty years, but his attitude towards life made him undoubtedly the greatest of all time.

As sports fans, people must show him respect for as long as we live, because he has earned it. Fans cannot show grief that Number Two has retired, but we can mourn that “The Captain.” Jeter will not be able to teach us on a night-to-night basis anymore.

As Frank Sinatra once said, “He did it his way,” and his way worked.

Jeter ended his career in style, with a walk off single to beat the Orioles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejNA_42RRA