Derek Jeter’s Retirement Tour Not All Fun & Games

As New York Yankees’ shortstop and team captain, Derek Jeter is used to excellence, and his level and play and leadership have been the trademarks of a resurrected franchise over the past two decades. As Jeter entered the fold for first-year manager Joe Torre, the young shortstop was embarking on a career that would see many accolades, along with five World Series championships–something his predecessor as captain, Don Mattingly never got to enjoy. Donnie Baseball limped off into the sunset, after a crushing 5-game defeat in the American League Divisional Series to the Seattle Mariners. He didn’t partake in a farewell tour, he just went away.

The current team captain, after missing most of last season from a fractured ankle that he re-fractured, along with other various leg injuries that resulted in his playing in only 17 games, decided enough was enough, and announced that the 2014 season would be his last in pinstripes as an active player. The farewell tour began. Each ballpark that Jeter made his final appearance in, held a special ceremony, where gifts of varying value and interpretation were given, along with multiple donations to Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation.

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What hadn’t been discussed prior to today, are the taxes that Captain Clutch will have to pay to the federal and various state governments in which he was given his good-bye tokens of gratitude. According to a report that appeared on NewJersey.com, Derek Jeter will be responsible for approximately $16,000 in taxes for gifts such as vacations, golf clubs, and other pieces of varying value. The one gift that is exempt? The $34,000 watch presented by former Yankees’ second baseman Robinson Cano, because it was a personal gift from Cano, not from the Seattle Mariners.

If you’re wondering how quickly Mr. November will take to pay that bill, according to the report, about 2 innings of work based off of his 2014 base salary of $12 million dollars. If the money was really an issue, Jeter could always give everything back and be off the hook completely…but I think he’ll just pay the tab and enjoy his parting gifts.