This Will Be Derek Jeter's Last Season Playing Baseball
"I know they say that when you dream you eventually wake up. Well, for some reason, I've never had to wake up. Not just because of my time as a New York Yankee but also because I am living my dream every single day."
Everyone always knew the day would come, and many suspected the news that Derek Jeter made official Wednesday: 2014 will be Jeter's last season playing Major League Baseball.
In a lengthy letter he released on his Facebook page, Derek Jeter wrote, "I could not be more sure. I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball."
He wrote that he always said he would leave baseball when the game became less fun and more of a job. His injury-plagued 2013 season convinced him that the time had come.
Jeter said that for 20 years his only concern has been playing his best and helping the Yankees win. "That means that for 365 days a year, my every thought and action were geared towards that goal. It's now time for something new."
Jeter won five World Series championships, a feat that only 26 other players in Major League history can top. The 13-time All Star is 10th on the all-time hit list, won five gold gloves, Rookie of the Year, and World Series MVP.
Jeter's farewell tour will rival and likely surpass the one for his close friend, Mariano Rivera, who retired in 2013.
Time will tell if Jeter can summon any magic in his final season, but — barring injury — his last game of the regular season on Sept. 28 will see Jeter returning to Fenway Park, playing one last time against longtime rivals the Boston Red Sox.
