1989 caption
‎

"Is it that desire to spontaneously initiate excitement? That we

hit the glove before play starts; that
we swing the bat before the pitch is
thrown; that we dig our feet into the
ground; or that we stare across the
horizon and grip the bat before the
moment comes?"

~ 1st line in only baseball story i ever wrote (1989)

* * *

2011

Mr. 3000.

Photo from Are you ready NEW YORK?

He conjured the fountain of youth with one swing. "The ball was in the air, disappearing into the kind of white clouds Norman Rockwell loved to paint, and Derek Jeter watched it the way a child watches a runaway balloon floating across a midsummer sky."

"Diminished" Derek Jeter caused New York City to leap higher than it's been in a long while, sending his #3000 hit to heaven. He faced the fates of history and sent everything there.

His home run for #3000 created a monument in left field. But the pressure was greater going five for five to win the game.

To reach that hallowed ground, he didn't just beat one of the game's best young stars five times (6 if you count the base he stole), he didn't accept ball four for a free pass.