Dear Derek,
I know you will probably never read this. But because of the .00001 percent chance that you will, I had to write this letter to you.
It's mostly a thank you letter.
So Derek, thank you. Thank you for inspiring me and millions of others out there throughout your entire career. Never in the history of sports (which I have studied thoroughly), has any athlete played with such class, dedication, passion, leadership, and humility as you.
In 2000 I was six years old. I had no idea where my life was going. My dad always watched Yankees games in the living room, but I never paid too much attention. Yet, I still perfectly remember that first pitch of Game 4 in the World Series against the Mets which you hit out of the park. It was at that exact moment that I decided I had to be the next Derek Jeter. Through you in that moment, I realized baseball was the greatest sport in the world and that I wanted to be surrounded by baseball for the rest of my life. But that was just one of your countless epic moments.
When I was 11, I moved out to California. Sure, I've rooted for the Dodgers ever since, but anyone who knows me well will tell you that the Yankees always have remained my No. 1 team. It was torture missing all the Yankees games in my teenage years. The Yankees were never on TV in California, and my parents refused to buy the YES Network channel. My favorite part of the year would always be the summer vacation we would take a trip back to New York, just so I could see my favorite player on the field one more time.
July 9th, 2011. I wasn't supposed to be at a Yankees game that day. I was supposed to go a week earlier, but there was a postponement due to rain. It just so happened that on July 9th, 2011, you were a few hits away from 3000. I remember praying to God that day, saying the only thing I wanted more than a Yankees win, was for you to get that 3000th hit, with me there to witness it. Derek, not only did you get a few hits that day, you went 5-for-5. Your 3000th hit was a home run off of David Price AND you had the game-winning hit that day. I remember losing my voice that afternoon because I was screaming so loudly for you in the right field bleachers as you rounded the bases and your teammates greeted you at home plate. I was amazed. But then again, I wasn't. This was just another typical Derek Jeter moment. I can't think of any athlete that was more clutch when it counted than you. I could go on for days about how much all your clutch hits meant to me, but let's be honest, no one has time for that.
So by now you're probably wondering where I'm going with this letter. Well, thanks to your introduction of baseball to me, I ended up playing competitively for eight years. Eventually I stopped, because I realized as good as I was in the field, my bat power wasn't quite up to par (sound familiar?). However, I never lost my passion for baseball. I decided if I couldn't play it, I would talk about it. So now I'm a semester away from graduating at Cal State Northridge with a major in Broadcast Journalism.
I currently have a weekly sports radio talk show on DASH Radio called "In The Booth". When it's baseball season, I'm pretty sure I mention you in every single conversation. My dream is to have you on my show one day so I can ask you a few of the many questions I've always wondered about you. But also just so that I can give you a handshake and say thank you for being that hero throughout my entire life.
Baseball wasn't the greatest gift you gave me. YOU were the greatest gift, Derek.
I promise I'm not proposing...
But seriously, your talent on the field inspired me to be a better player, and your persona off the field inspired me to be a hard-working, respectable man in life.
So in conclusion Derek, sorry for the delay of this letter. But now that I'm wrapping up things in college and my career is kicking off as a sports journalist (hopefully), I felt like this was the time to reach out to you. Whether you read this or not, whether I ever get to meet you or not, I just wanted the world to know how much I respect and appreciate you.
You were my hero growing up, and I guess you could say as the founder of The Players Tribune, you're now my sports journalism inspiration.
Thank you for all the memories #2.
Your fan,
Harry Abelson
