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Even if you're a diehard Yankee fan, the Derek Jeter farewell tour may be getting a little bit tiring, just as tiring as the double plays Jeter seems to be grounding into all the time, which are as frustrating as the up-and-down season that this team has been having. But you know what? Despite all that, deep down in your soul, you know that those tear ducts are preparing for Jeter's final appearance.
I don't care who you are; a teenage girl, a grown woman, a young annoying boy that reminds me I have made the right decision in not wanting kids, or a tough middle-aged man who is strongly convinced he's in the Sons of Anarchy, come Jeter's final appearance, you are going to cry--no! You are going to sob like a 12-year-old girl who just saw Harry Styles wink at her from a distance. The fact remains: you are watching a legend in his final games.
Now I know there will be those people who will not rank Jeter among the greats like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, or Joe DiMaggio, but that does not take away 20 seasons of big hits, classic moments, flips, dives, World Series championships, or the shrine that I have made inside my closet that will never be spoken of again. If you're a fan of the Yankees and if you're a fan of baseball, then you are a fan of Derek Jeter. (Just ask Grant Brisbee.) And if you're a fan of Jeter, you realize that every passing day means one day closer to the inevitable, which will bring you closer and closer to that box of tissues that you without a doubt will blow your nose into.
Where were you when Andy Pettitte and Jeter himself went out to the mound to take the ball from Mariano Rivera's hand for the final time? Were you in a bar drinking your sorrows away? Were you at home biting your couch pillow as tiny tears rolled down your face? Were you in the bleachers with your face buried in a stranger's chest as you consoled each other? Well, you are going to remember where you are when Jeter takes his final at-bat, and when Jeter steps out of the dugout to wave goodbye for one final time. You are going to remember where you are and who you're with when you begin to hyperventilate.
So while the season has been rough, and while you're still telling everyone that Jeter shouldn't be batting second, just remember that you have a mere month and a half guaranteed of this left, a month and a half to see the greatest Yankee shortstop of all-time, a month and a half to see the Captain step up to the plate, raise his right hand up to the umpire before taking his hacks, and a month and a half left to stock up on Kleenex.