There are many ways to mark Derek Jeter’s success with the Yankees. You can start with the five World Series rings.
To really understand the Jeter Experience, though, you have to realize the impact he has had on a generation of shortstops.
Just as NBA players wanted to Be Like Mike in Michael Jordan’s glory days, the shortstop position is filled with MLB players who want to Be Like Derek.
That may be the greatest compliment of them all.
“You only hope to be kind of close to him,’’ Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond told the Post in Viera, Fla. “He’s at the top of the mountain. And it’s a very high mountain to climb. If you get halfway up or three quarters of the way up that would be fantastic in anybody’s eyes.
“Derek has done it on and off the field. He set the mold,’’ Desmond, 28, explained. “Understand, growing up, I was not a Jeter fan. I lived in Florida and we got TBS and the Braves games with Rafael Furcal. I never wore No. 2 or anything like that. But once I signed and became a professional baseball player, Derek Jeter became the standard that you are trying to play up to.
“And just being on the field with him, just being in his presence, is all I could ever ask.’’
When the Rockies’ Troy Tulowitzki made it to the majors he got No. 2 in honor of Jeter. One recent early morning in Scottsdale, Ariz., he told me his Jeter story.
“You grow up and you say, ‘Man, if I was in the big leagues one day, I would wear No. 2 because I would want to be like Jeter. I’d want to play in the postseason, just like him,’’’ Tulowitzki said. “To actually get to the big leagues and to wear No. 2, play the same position, was awesome.
“Pro ball was the first time I wore No. 2. In college I wore No. 5 because No. 2 was already taken. I went to No. 5 because of Nomar [Garciaparra]. When I went to the big leagues I actually got the number from a coach, Mike Gallego. Gags had No. 2 and he was the infield coach and we had a good relationship and he said, ‘You deserve this.’ That was phenomenal.’’
That was in 2006.
Jeter’s career directly impacted Tulowitzki’s career. Jeter is 6-foot-3. Tulowitzki is 6-3. Desmond is 6-3.
“Derek allowed for me to stay in the draft as a shortstop, him and Cal Ripken, really allowed me to get drafted as a shortstop,’’ Tulowitzki said. “To not let them say, ‘Hey, let’s stick this guy at third base.’ It allowed me to fulfill my dream and stay at shortstop, I hope to finish my career at that position.’’
Tulowitzki’s career path could take him to Yankee Stadium next season. The Rockies owe him $114 million from 2015 through 2020. That’s a Colorado Rocky Mountain High contract.
Tulowitzki, 29, is not closing any doors.
“Right now I have a job in front of me and it is to play this year with the Rockies,’’ Tulowitzki said. “Time will tell what happens. Whatever happens, happens. At the same time, I wouldn’t want to comment on it because I have the utmost respect for Derek. This year is going to be so special for him. Maybe at another time when the offseason comes. I have to look at it as just talk. If something were to happen, it happens, but this is just talk. You have to go out there and play your game.’’
That is a Jeter-like response.
There is another star shortstop who is a free agent after the season, the Dodgers’ Hanley Ramirez, and he is a full-fledged member of the Derek Jeter Fan Club.
“I always looked up to Jeter, a lot,’’ Ramirez, 30, said at the Dodgers spring training site, Camelback Ranch. “The way he played, he’s a champion, that’s his legacy. Everything he does on the field and the way he carries himself off the field, is unbelievable.’’
“What I learned most from Jeter from watching him is that if he goes 0-for-4, he’s still the same guy,’’ Ramirez explained. “It’s all about winning and that’s the way it is supposed to be. I wore No. 2 in Miami because of Jeter. He plays the game right. We’re going to miss him.’’
(Ramirez, incidentally, now wears No. 13 — made famous by Alex Rodriguez — in LA, where No. 2 is retired for Tommy Lasorda).
Tulowitzki agrees that Jeter has always conducted himself “the right way.”
“You ask every player in this game, who really is the face of baseball and they will say: Derek Jeter,’’ Tulowitzki said. “I’ve always watched how he goes about his game, how he does everything from an interview to taking an at-bat.’
“You’re a role model. You can’t play this game forever. One day you want those kids to learn how to play the game from you.’’
Jeter has done just that.
Young Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, 21, who grew up in Aruba, changed his number to 2 this year to honor Jeter, 39, his shortstop idol.
The Cardinals signed Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz, 23, this spring. His hero? Derek Jeter.
“Derek Jeter is the model player that everybody should look up to,’’ Diaz said. “He is a world-renowned baseball player that comes across as a leader and somebody that everybody should try to be like.’’
Be Like Derek.
This generation of shortstops, and the next, is living proof of the Jeter Experience.