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Jeter Now About Legacy Not Captaincy


By Mike Silva ~ May 16th, 2011. Filed under: Mike Silva, New York Yankees.

“If I thought he did something wrong, I’d be the first to tell him,”- Derek Jeter on Jorge Posada.

The Jorge Posada saga has morphed into another example about why Derek Jeter continues to disappoint us with his style of leadership. Back on April 24th I wrote how Jeter is the “emperor with no clothes.” He’s been given credit for leading the Yankees, but only seems to do the job when surrounded by self motivated veteran leadership. He plays the role of “teammate” on editions of the team that feature him at the core. To date, the biggest scar on Jeter’s legacy was his inability to integrate Alex Rodriguez into the organization in 2004. Since A-Rod has his own personality issues many are willing to give Jeter a pass in that situation. The behavior of Jeter during “Posada-gate” this weekend should be further proof of Jeter’s selective captaincy. It’s now fair game to question how effective a captain Jeter has been and will continue to be.

The Yankees have a history of great captains: Gehrig, Munson, and Mattingly. Each knew when to step aside when it was for the good of the team. Munson hated Reggie Jackson, but put his ego aside for the good of the team. Would Jeter have done the same? His handling of Alex Rodriguez should tell you the answer. Don Mattingly was batting sixth, behind the likes of Mike Stanley, Ruben Sierra, and Darryl Strawberry, down the stretch in 1995. All he cared about was making the playoffs that year, not his ego.

If Saturday’s insubordination stemmed from Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson, or Mark Teixeira would he have issued another bland non committal statement? If Brian Cashman was ready to open the Yankees vaults this winter for a contract extension, instead of being the most vocal voice against it, would he have received more support from Jeter? If Joe Torre were the manager, instead of Joe Girardi, would he be even using the word “if” in his statements? I think the answer is fairly obvious.

Yes, Jeter is good friends with Posada which makes this tricky, but once you are in the confines of the clubhouse it’s about the team, not the friendship. At this point its clear Derek Jeter is mainly interested in the legacy of Derek Jeter. It’s not about championships, the team, or anything other than the final chapter of his legacy. He plays such transparent politics its nauseating. The irony about all this is that behavior might do the opposite of what he desires: leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the New York fans.

Unfortunately, the media will continue to live in the fantasy they created about Jeter, instead of the hard cold reality. That’s why Jeter will likely skate, even if it’s at the expense of the very responsibility that is at the crux of his title.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com
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3 Responses to Jeter Now About Legacy Not Captaincy

  1. Lo
    May 16th, 2011 at 3:08 pm

    Thurman Munson used to leave notes in Reggie’s locker calling him a n***er before a half-ass peace treaty. Gehrig refused to say even a word to Ruth for YEARS, he undeniably hated him so much.

    Jeter’s got a long way to go if he wants to live down to what Yankee captains actually have been, not what people selectively whitewash when they remember them.

    (Not that captaincy isn’t anything but a figurehead marketing title anyway, especially in this day and age.)

  2. Patrick
    May 16th, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    Definitely a lot of long distance monday morning quarterback going on looking back 35, 80 years.

    Munson was not exactly a peace maker, nor was Lou Gerhig.

    What we have today is more and more scrutiny over issues that used to remain in the clubhouse. Fact is the Yankees front office has repeatedly used the public space in recent years to discredit Joe Torre, Jeter and now Posada.

    I can’t stand the Yankees and love to see them burning the back pages in a negative way, but these guys are getting jerked around. As is always the case in New York, they were put on too high a pedestal and now they are being needlessly dragged through the mud.

  3. Ben Vinutti
    May 17th, 2011 at 8:53 am

    I agree with Silva on this. Jeter has been Captain through the years only in setting an example of hustling and playing hard every play, every day – he really hasn’t shown any strong leadership in his statements to the press over the years, sounding just slightly less PR-coached than ARod, who is the king of cliche’s. Now that Jeter is, apparently, unable to perform at an elite level, he is nothing more than a long-tenured Yankee who wears the title of Captain. Posada has actually been more of Captain over the years, IMHO, than Jeter, his Manny-like behavior this week notwithstanding. I also have not felt the same about Jeter since his silence with respect to ARod when ARod came to the Yanks. His public support for the ego-fragile star would have, I believe, helped not just the player, but the clubhouse stability and team performance.

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