Derek Jeter concluded his heralded Major League Baseball career this week, having racked up all sorts of accolades and honors while playing two decades solely with the New York Yankees.
Those achievements — including five world championships, 14 all-star game selections and 3,463 career hits — have been well-chronicled of late in numerous print, broadcast and Internet tributes.
One rare accomplishment of the player simply known as “Captain” deserves mention here. Never once was Jeter ejected from a game by an umpire. That’s 2,745 regular-season games — 2,903 if you add in his postseason appearances.
These Hall of Fame players concluded their careers in similar never-ejected fashion: Stan Musial at 3,026 regular-season games, Willie Mays at 2,992, Brooks Robinson 2,896, Robin Yount 2,856 and Tony Perez 2,777.
Other baseball standouts fell short — Babe Ruth punched an umpire in the head, while Roberto Alomar spat on one. Lou Gehrig got tossed for cursing at Ty Cobb. Wade Boggs and Rod Carew went double-digit seasons before earning the thumb. Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn both were ejected more than once.
Jeter’s on-field civility is noteworthy, given that his home turf was Yankee Stadiums old and new and that he toiled in the trademark pinstripes under the intense scrutiny and bright lights of the world’s most volatile media market.
Wrote ESPN.com’s Ian O’Connor: “In more than 20 years Jeter never once lost it with an umpire, a remarkable feat considering how verbal abuse of umps has long been accepted as part of the game, just like Cracker Jack, ballpark franks and the seventh-inning stretch. Not just accepted, but encouraged. Glorified, even.”
Jeter once came oh-so-close to an ejection. In a 2009 game against Toronto, he tried stealing third base, and the catcher’s throw easily beat him to the bag. The third-base umpire called him out — although replays showed Jeter was safe, using a swim-like technique to avoid the tag.
After the call and comments with the base umpire, Jeter uncharacteristically exploded before coaches stepped in and carried on the heated conversation (manager Joe Girardi eventually was ejected). MLB.com explained Jeter took issue not with the call but the explanation of the call.
“I was told I was out because the ball beat me and that he didn’t have to tag me. I was unaware they had changed the rules,” Jeter said, adding, “I’ve seen everybody make mistakes on calls before, but I was baffled by the explanation.”
Reviewing the incident later with reporters, crew chief John Hirschbeck essentially complimented Jeter.
“In my 27 years in the big leagues, he’s probably the classiest person I’ve been around,” Hirschbeck said. “It would make his actions seem appropriate if that’s what he was told.”
Hirschbeck’s comment and Jeter’s 2,903-game no-ejection streak confirm: Respect shown leads to respect earned, which in turn leads to respect honored.