BALTIMORE — He is Derek Jeter so, of course, he was going to make it back for Opening Day. And when he refractured his left ankle, the recalibration was to early in the second half — ahead of schedule, for sure — to help save the Yankees’ season.
Jeter wasn’t going to be stopped by quad and calf setbacks, and even this latest ankle misery hardly diluted the belief that somehow, some way he was going to make it back to deliver the hit Sept. 29 in Houston that put the Yankees in the playoffs.
This has been Jeter for nearly two decades now, making anything seem possible when it came to him. Man. Superman. Myth. Flying into stands, flipping balls backhanded, homering off David Price for hit 3,000.
But, in the end, this isn’t Hollywood, scripted with the happy ending. The 2013 season never played out how Jeter expected. Instead, it was “a nightmare.” His words. Jeter played fewer games for the Yanks at short than Eduardo Nunez, Jayson Nix, Reid Brignac and — probably by the end of the season — Brendan Ryan, too. He hit .190 and made Alex Rodriguez look sturdy by comparison.
Yet when the end of his 2013 season was made official yesterday, a true believer line already was forming that has Jeter on the field Opening Day 2014 — led naturally by the uber-optimistic Jeter himself.
“There is no doubt in my mind that I will get back to where I was,” Jeter said.
But there was a chorus.
Joe Girardi: “What is inside Derek is special. I will never doubt Derek.”
Brian Cashman: “I have not watched [Jeter’s] last game. No one has.”
I hope they are right. The best story is Jeter coming back, adding to the mythology. He certainly has brought enough to the game — done it with grace and dignity — that it would feel right for him to head to the exit on something closer to his terms, not a limp.
But if this were not Derek Jeter — man, Superman, myth — would we just dismiss a return to play shortstop regularly as fantasy?
He would play in his age-40 season in 2014, and here is the entire list of those with 100 games in a season at shortstop at that age or older: Honus Wagner, Luke Appling, Omar Vizquel. None was coming off anything like a twice-fractured ankle.
Jeter believes the root of all of these problems was an inability to strengthen the leg last offseason, as he had to mainly rest to let the first fracture heal. That may be true. But how do you ignore the calendar and the years of residual punishment on those legs?
Nobody doubts the commitment he will put into strengthening this winter. And maybe this time it is seamless, age-defying, remarkable. Or maybe he feels more pain in December or January or February. Then what?
Age has yet to touch Jeter’s will and self-assurance. But everything else is in play. A 39-year-old who already had lost range, coming off a devastating foot injury and re-injury, after having missed essentially a full year of playing, is going to make it back at a high level.
Really, if it weren’t Jeter, we would probably just chuckle at that.
But it is Jeter, so you leave the door slightly ajar. But for the Yanks, they must go forward thinking about alternatives. That Jeter will be no better than a part-time shortstop or less. He probably will pick up his $9.5 million player option, but the Yanks will have to invest further, unless they think Eduardo Nunez — brittle and shaky — can handle the bulk of the games.
Free-agent shortstops such as Jhonny Peralta (even with his Biogenesis stain) or Stephen Drew should be attractive because they project as players who could handle third, as well, if Jeter returns as a regular, since A-Rod — in case you haven’t heard — likely is to miss some time next year.
For now, though, even Jeter conceded he had to be shut down, that he was not helping the team, that the risk of yet another ankle crumble that would take 2014 off the board completely was too great. He admits it is killing him, that no one loves to play this time of year more than him. Jeter talked about getting “pom-poms” and cheering because so many guys on the bench cheered for him over the years.
And we cheer for him, as well. Again, it would be Hollywood stuff if he comes back. But we temper expectations this time around. Because with all the incredible stuff he has done, Jeter really is just a man.
Not Superman or a myth.