Every Yankee fan knows about the amazing things that Derek Jeter did during his career with the New York Yankees. Jeter has been playing with the New York Yankees ever since he entered the game of baseball and retired in pin stripes. There is no doubt that Derek Jeter went down in Yankee history as one of the greats, but is it possible for someone to play up to Jeter's level? Every Yankee fan knows about Jeter's love for the game and how he would always put his body on the line to help the Yankees win games. Jeter left an impact on the game as a captain and as an amazing short stop. After the Yankees lost their captain, they turned to their trading system and acquired Didi Gregorius from the Arizona Diamondbacks. So far Gregorius has proven that he can be the athlete that the Yankees need him to be.
Gregorius has been able to show the Yankees that he has the capability of being their new short stop as they try to build a dominating team that can win games. According to a 2014 article in the N.Y. Post, Yankees general manager, Brian Cashman said, “It’s not something I can worry about. No one will replace Derek Jeter. He was one in a billion." In other words, Cashman is just trying make his team better at this point, and he made the following statement,“I can’t approach and never have approached the game as trying to find a way to replace Derek Jeter. My efforts are to just try and upgrade what I've got."
He did exactly that by giving Didi Gregorius a pin stripped uniform. According to the Post's article, scouts had good thing to say about him, and an A.L. scout stated, “The Yankees needed him, and he was the best one out there...’’ The scout continued to say “If you don’t have one in your system, he was the best one to acquire." As an athlete and from what Yankee fans have seen so far, Didi Gregious has great athletic abilities.
Gregorius has speed when it comes to base running, along with a hard throwing hand when it comes to the short stop position. He might not be a "Derek Jeter", but the Yankees got their money's worth. The only thing that he has trouble with is his batting consistency, but when he gets contact with the baseball, he can do some real damage. He has also shown the Yankees universe that he can do damage with his glove and he shows off his athletic ability with his diving jumps and plays. According to mlb.com Alex Rodriguez said, "He has a rare combination of speed and explosiveness. But what you don't see is an incredibly strong arm that is so accurate. That combination is lethal."
From Didi Gregorius point of view, that must be an extraordinary thing to hear.
Having a co-worker say that about you is really saying something about your performance. To give you a little glimpse of Gregorius, FoxSports1 stated, "Gregorius has made plays from the hole, from his back foot, throwing the 90 miles per hour across the diamond from his back foot. You don't see that. It makes it a lot easier for your third baseman to play third base." Gregorius may not be Derek Jeter, but he is an outstanding athlete that is an essential puzzle piece that the Yankees need to be a success.
Derek Jeter's successor definitely has potential and he definitely has an extraordinary amount of talent. The Yankees did the right thing my signing Gregorius because he definitely brings flair to the ball club. The main thing is that he was able to show potential and help the Yankees win games by aggressively getting the baseball into his glove and making plays to come up with plays that avoid teams from scoring. If you are a Yankee fan, you have to be proud to see that a young athlete can fill the shoes of a legend.
