Jeter and A-Rod Must Win in 2007
Why the Two Stars Must Lead the New York Yankees to the World Series
After three years together and no championships, the New York Yankees look to their $441 million combination of A-Rod and Jeter to lead the team to a title.
When the New York Yankees acquired Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers on February 16, 2004, just about every baseball fan in America expected that the Bronx Bombers were going to win several World Series titles in the coming years. With Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez manning the left side of the infield, they looked poised to start yet another New York Yankee dynasty.
But it didn’t happen. Rodriguez joined the team and had a relatively disappointing 2004 season, hitting only .286 with 106 RBI. That fall, theYankees blew a three games to nothing series lead against the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 American League Championship Series. Although the baseball world was shocked and Yankee fans were disappointed, most attributed the embarrassing collapse to a once in a lifetime fluke.
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez Lose Together in 2005 and 2006
But then the Yankees got knocked out by the Angels in the 2005 American League Division Series. In 2006, the Detroit Tigers beat the Bronx Bombers in the ALDS in just four games. One couldn’t help but notice that the Yankees had moved backwards since A-Rod’s arrival.
The fans did not like it, and they vented much of their frustration on Rodriguez, mercilessly booing him all throughout last season. Although he said all of the polite things about his slumps and the fans' behavior last year, Rodriguez began to shown his real feelings in subtle ways throughout the spring of the 2007 Major League Baseball season.
First, he suggested that he had considered the possibility of an off-season trade. A-Rod also indicated that he may opt out of the final three years of his contract at the end of the 2007 Major League Baseball season. He made it clear that one factor in his decision was going to be how the fans treated him in 2007. The message was loud and clear. Love Me New York, or I am gone.
Jeter and A-Rod Must Rise Above Pride and Pressure
Although there is a lot of drama surrounding the pride and the pressure of being a member of the 2007 New York Yankees, the only question that will matter to the team and its fans is whether Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter can win a World Series together in 2007. Because if they don’t, there will be wholesale changes to the team in 2008. There also might be a smudge left on the legacy of each of these great players.
Think about it. A-Rod is the greatest baseball player to come along since Willie Mays. He is going to get at least 3,000 hits, 700 home runs, and 2,000 RBI. Derek Jeter is the messiah of New York Yankee baseball. He showed up in 1996 and the team won five pennants and four World Championships in his first six seasons. The guy is a perennial MVP candidate who will someday approach, and perhaps even surpass, 3500 career hits.
Both players are surely first ballot Hall of Famers.
But, simply put, A-Rod’s monster statistics will not look as impressive if he fails to win a World Series. He will be lumped in with Ted Williams, Dan Marino and Patrick Ewing, all of them legends, but all constantly reminded of their inability win the big one. Is this really where A-Rod wants his legend to reside?
And what of Derek Jeter? Yes, he had an MVP-caliber season in 2006, and he has been consistently excellent for his entire eleven year career. He has those four rings, and he will surely go to Cooperstown.
But is he that once in a generation player so many thought he was? Is he the guy who is going to win eight World Series and go down as the Joe DiMaggio of his generation? Or will he spend the rest of his career trying, but failing, to recapture the past?
The two players need to band together now, for their team and for their legacy.
