Is Derek Jeter Finished?

Is Derek Jeter's career coming to an end? Many people believe so and why shouldn't they. Everybody knows that when a professional athlete gets older in years their performance starts to diminish. Jeter is 37 and the first half of the season critics were all over him. Jeter was all done they said, the Yankees should have never signed him for an extra three years. Well, 51 million dollars is a lot of money and the Yankees could have been much more productive with the spending.

In the first half of the season, Jeter batted a measly .270; he just could not get it going. The only positive thing to come out of the first half of the season was his record-breaking 3,000 hit as a Yankee. His 3,000 hit was a memorable one too, considering that Jeter never had a lot of power to begin with, the chances that his 3,000 hit would be a home run was astronomical.Remember, he wasn't hitting very well to begin with and before he got injured he was even worse.

When he hit that home run, he joined Wade Boggs as the only other player to ever hit their 3,000 hit as a home run. A respectable mark to hold in the history of baseball. Not to mention, that he was facing David Price and his dominating 95 to 100 miles per hour fastball. Although, Jeter was struggling, especially against pitchers that threw over 95 miles per hour. Throughout the years Jeter's bat speed has declined ordinarily.

However, that special day he managed to do the unthinkable.The stars must have lined up correctly that magical day because Jeter hit the ball deep into the left centerfield seats and never looked back. He ended up going five for five that day, an amazing achievement of itself. After he hit his 3,000 hit, Jeter's bat began to heat up gradually. He raised his average in the second half hovering around .300, however, his second half average was actually a respectful .307. Pretty good for a guy who everyone thought to-be washed up, wouldn't you say.

Although, he ended the season with a respectable .297 average, just below .300; he made an incredible turnaround to salvage his inadequate performance in the first half. If you watched some games in the second half, you could even see he was squaring up on the ball more. Also you have to account for the amazing plays he makes while everyone else is sleeping.

In my opinion Derek Jeter most certainly has a few years left in the tank. You have to realize what a leader this guy has been and how essential he is to his teammates. They didn't give him the Captain title because of his good looks, right. The guy is an overachiever when ever possible and pushes himself to limits, we only dream about. He has shown us time and again that you can succeed with anything if you put your mind to it. I know that seems corny, but Derek Jeter will always be one of the best sports icons of our era. Without a doubt, when he retires Jeter will be a first-ballot-selection into the baseball hall of fame.