We have known since early March that Mariano Rivera was retiring at the conclusion of this season.
But there are now scenarios developing in which the remainder of the Core Four also could call it a career.
Both Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte said they want to table discussions about the future until after the season, particularly not to bring personal matters into the Yankees’ playoff quest.
I still expect Jeter to play in 2014, but I do have some hesitancy after several members of the team said they could see the shortstop walking away rather than messing with his legacy if he does not believe he can get vitality back in his legs. And after implying in spring training he had his sights set beyond just 2013, Pettitte now speaks of having to make a decision on whether he wants to “go through this grind again.”
When I asked Jeter directly whether he expects to be back, he hedged several times before offering, “I never imagine not playing. This has been my job for 20 years.”
Close, but not a definitive, “Yes, I am going to play.” Which would have been his response any other time in those two decades.
The respect for Jeter, notably his fanaticism to keep important issues private until he is ready to address them, left most personnel around the club unwilling to speak about the shortstop for the record. But two people I believe know him well — or as well as you could know such a guarded person — said there are circumstances in which Jeter walks away from his $9.5 million player option for next season.
They said Jeter would not let money dictate his decision. He has made a quarter of a billion dollars on the field, tons more off it and remains incredibly marketable. Instead, the Jeter-Joe DiMaggio comparison was cited. DiMaggio retired when his production and body betrayed him because if he couldn’t be Joe DiMaggio, he didn’t want to play. His dignity and legacy meant too much to him.
Jeter is about dignity and legacy, as well. Right now, he is hitting .190, moves haltingly at shortstop and — most worrisome — has incurred at least a fourth setback with his legs since the beginning of spring training. Usually stoic, Jeter has spoken in broader strokes about his frustration. Joe Girardi said it is eating up Jeter not to be on the field during a playoff chase, and other insiders describe Jeter’s disappointment/dismay quotient as more palpable than they ever could have imagined.
Jeter traces his leg problems to being unable to work on strength because he had to heal an ankle fractured in last year’s ALCS. He told me he believes working on his legs this winter would be restorative. But Jeter is a king of optimism. He is 39. The ankle injury was serious. History shows few shortstops his age who have ever played regularly and fewer still who have been productive.
When I suggested to Yankees insiders I think Jeter always will believe he can find a way to succeed, they concur about his high confidence level. But they say his stronger character trait is to avoid embarrassment, that he would never play if he couldn’t be Derek Jeter.
And then there is this: The Yankees are in a transition. Jeter’s best pal, Jorge Posada, already is retired. Rivera is definitely going and Pettitte might go, as well. Does he want to transition to a lesser role during a team transition, during a time when Yankee management is talking about frugality, at least for 2014? He loathed the public fight over a contract extension following the 2010 season, and he hardly wants to hear from team executives what he is not worth again if he tries to negotiate a new deal rather than simply pick up the $9 million option.
Pettitte also probably would be asked to take a cut from his $12 million salary to return. The lefty, the oldest starter in the majors, has rebounded from a troubling midseason patch to pitch better the last three weeks.
“There is no doubt I think about what I want to do,” Pettitte said. “But the focus has to be on the team for now. But it has been a grind. It has been a long year, but I have loved it. I don’t want to jump to conclusions.”
There is one last playoff to try to make, one more ring to chase. For now, that is the priority. Rivera blew his MLB-high-tying fifth save of the second half Sunday, but the Yankees still beat the Red Sox, 4-3. Jeter sat with the bad ankle. Pettitte faces the Orioles on Wednesday. They are fading, but still proud.
Is it the final stretch run for them all?