Five Greatest Derek Jeter All-Star Game Memories

In Derek Jeter´s  14 times as an All-Star, you would think that choosing five outstanding moments would be a simple task. But the difficulty comes from having to choose just five.

So, for just once, put the Yankees Number 2 on your back, and ask yourself, if you were Derek Jeter, which ones would you choose?

Would you choose your first, in 1998?  Would you readily admit that the culmination of a dream that you carried with you since Little League belongs on the list? Sure you would.

How about 1999, would you have chosen that one? That´s when Major League Baseball honored the All-Century Team. And that´s when Hank Aaron honored you by wanting to meet you.

Certainly, you would not leave out 2000.  You earned the All-Star MVP, and your three hits helped the American League win 6-3.

And could you ever forget 2007? That´s when you were there to help honor Willie Mays.

Being the true Yankee that you are, there is no way you could leave out 2008. So many Yankee greats and Hall of Famers were honored at Yankee Stadium, and Yankee fans showed their gratitude to The Boss.

If you were Derek Jeter, you would probably include all of these. But you would also have plans to add one final special moment to the list in 2014. After all, you have always had a flair for coming up with something unforgettable at unforgettable times, haven´t you?

But no matter what you would do tonight, we would always love you. Not just because of your special All-Star moments, but because of all of the joy and happiness you have given to Yankees´ fans.

For one night, we would have to share you with all baseball fans.  But your real greatness would have come in staying with us all these years, in an era when it has been more fashionable to chase the dollars and go somewhere else.

And your real greatness would have come from  accomplishing everything you have naturally, without turning  to artificial help. And from walking down Broadway with an attitude that, despite your greatness, you are just the same as the rest of us.

That is what you would probably do if you were Number 2 in pinstripes.  But out of respect, you probably wouldn´t even think of replacing Derek Jeter, would you? That´s because some people are so special that they are better left to respect and remember.

That is why we are not going to choose five Derek Jeter All Star moments. If Derek wants to do that, we will leave that up to him. We are simply going to say thank you, Derek, for all of your wonderful memories.