Derek Jeter knows a winner when he sees one. At the 2023 All-Star Game, Jeter told a panel of fellow experts hosting a television show that the New York Yankees should trade for Juan Soto. Five months later, former Yankees captain and once-and-forever No. 2 got what he wanted. The Yankees gave up some of their top pitching prospects and a beloved catcher for one season of Soto.
This morning I woke up, still pinching myself that after 14 long seasons, the Yankees won the American League championship and are going to the World Series for the 41st time. They have not won since 2009.
Last night, Soto proved Jeter right — he had a seven-pitch at-bat that combined the agility of a chess grandmaster with the instinct of an assassin and the self-belief of the former Yankees captain. Soto knows how to play and instinctively knows what needs to be done, just like Jeter!
It’s appropriate that Derek is still instinctively helping Yankees win. When he took over the Miami Marlins, he traded Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees. He publicly spurred Yankees brass to go after Soto. He had mentored Jazz Chisholm Jr., the spark plug who has given the Yankees a bolt of energy they so badly needed. Chisholm was one of the handful of trades the Yankees made at the 2024 trade deadline.
In case you were wondering if I’m an unabashed Jeter fan, I’m not. I admired him as a player and what he did on (and off) the field, but my favorite Yankee from the fabled ‘90s dynasty is Bernie Williams — cool, understated and the man who did his job, one at-bat at a time. Williams wasn’t one to fuss or preen. It’s why I loved Rahul Dravid, the Indian cricket player. This is why I admired Ivan Lendl.
Jeter, however, has that preternatural ability to manifest the future. Did he do it again? Who knows — but I am happy that the Yankees have won a pennant and are going to the World Series. It is a precious moment for me and every fan who has realized that the 1990s dynasty was freak convergence of talent, fate, and destiny.
I am happy. For now.
October 20, 2024. San Francisco
