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Derek Jeter turns 40 today. It seems like just the other day when he was a fresh-faced kid taking over the New York City sports market, winning championships and racking up crazy hit totals. Life is weird. Nonetheless, the big 4-0 is definitely a notable milestone. To celebrate, how about an arbitrary list? Most of the first 30 could really be in any order (and I had some fun with a few of them), so try not to read into the ranking too much; the only ones I really tried to rank were the top 10. Enjoy.
Top 40 Derek Jeter Moments
40. First career hit
39. #6 overall pick
38. Minor League Player of the Year
Derek Jeter accepts his trophy for Baseball America's minor league player of the year in 1994. pic.twitter.com/QJKmG2s6uv
— Baseball Pictures (@BasebaIl_Pics) December 29, 2013
37. Vintage Jeter applause GIF
36. Almost an MVP
So close.
35. Jump play '98
34. Removing Mo
33. 25-game hitting streak
32. Back-to-back-to-back in '97
31. Sportsman of the Year
#TBTCover Happy birthday to @Yankees Captain & 2009 SI Sportsman of the Year, Derek Jeter: http://t.co/ILGQkFjTKK pic.twitter.com/maGWklEXc4
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 26, 2014
30. 1,000th hit
29. Catch over Cano
28. Walking off the Sox
(At 2:00)
27. Emphatic, yet brief, return
26. First walk-off
25. "Yeah Jeets"
Why the Bronx wind will forever whisper, "YEAH JEETS": http://t.co/JucOx1T24c
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) February 12, 2014
#NeverForget
24. Casual celebration
The Jeterian order of thinking:
- I did not achieve this feat,
- therefore I cannot issue a "Yeah Jeets" when watching this highlight in two hours time,
- therefore I will not expend any energy celebrating this.
Text from the brilliant mind of Matthew Floratos
23. 57-game reaching base streak
22. 2000 All-Star Game MVP
21. Jeter & Zim
<3 Zim
20. 2,000th hit dribbler
19. Steals leader
18. Captain
On this day in 2003, Derek Jeter was named the 11th captain in New York Yankees history. pic.twitter.com/QczVV3Jlso
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 3, 2014
17. Classic celebration
16. First slam
15. Gift baskets
The MLB made an (imaginary) retirement gift basket for Derek Jeter! http://t.co/iJwIU8JWCV pic.twitter.com/hCXQLEhl0u
— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 12, 2014
14. Subway Series relay
13. Kicking off 2003 rally
12. '96 Opening Day dinger
11. '96 Opening Day catch
10. Old Yankee Stadium speech
9. First epic fall into stands
8. Most hits at the Old Yankee Stadium
7. Maier-assisted homer
6. Franchise hit king
5. 2000 World Series MVP
4. Second epic fall into stands
3. DJ3K
2. Mr. November
1. The Flip
***
And just to add some extra candles, the five truly greatest parts of his career:
1996
1998
1999
2000
2009
Happy birthday, Captain.