Derek Jeter taking his time to reach the 3,000 mark
The New York Yankees were again up against the Boston Red Sox as the two mammoths moved into their second fixture of the series at Fenway Park. The visiting Bronx Bombers were going with a defeat from their previous encounter on Friday, 8th April,
2011. Fortunately, Saturday proved to be their day as they butchered the hosts 9 – 4, late. Much to the visiting fans’ delight, Derek Jeter closed the gap on his 3,000 hits’ goal by marshalling a single.
Jeter is 67 hits shy from the hallmark figure of 3,000 and is trying his best to make the right impression on his peers when he walks away from the game in the next few years. The captain of the Yanks is on 2,933 hits, two places behind Barry Bonds. He is
ranked 33rd on the all time hits leader board.
The shortstop has missed many chances in the league thus far, and his slow approach is drawing criticism across the baseball world. Nevertheless, with two hits coming in the last two days, there are positives to take note of.
"It's early in the season. If he goes 3-for-3, nobody is going to question what's going on. That's the bottom line," Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "We've had some hitters that have done that this year. It's happened. The weather conditions that the hitters
are playing in aren't the best, either. I think he's going to be fine."
The situation is complicated and Jeter has been through many long playoff added seasons. Although, a trend might not be easily appreciated, the clear fact remains that Jeter’s improvement has been incremental over the years.
"When you make adjustments as a player you'd love to have 300, 400 at-bats under your belt before the season starts," he explained. "[Jeter] didn't get nearly that many and it could take a little bit of time. But I see things."
The manager further explained his belief by citing Jeter’s drive in run on Friday. The shot was hit on a breaking ball down the centre plate. His point was that Jeter will get going soon.
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