TAMPA — Derek Jeter believes when he leaves The Bronx following the upcoming season he will still possess the talent to play in the big leagues.
What the Yankees need to see is proof: the Captain staying healthy and delivering a final productive year.
A week after announcing on Facebook he would retire following the 2014 season, Jeter met the media in a pavilion next to George M. Steinbrenner Field on Wednesday.
Jeter insisted it wasn’t a retirement press conference. Instead he referred to it as a typical spring training address.
Of course, it wasn’t. Jeter’s teammates filled the area to Jeter’s right. In front of them were Joe Girardi, his coaches and GM Brian Cashman. Hal and Hank Steinbrenner were joined by their sister Jennifer and her son Stephen.
“I took a lot of time to think about this, and you start thinking how long do you want to do this,’’ said Jeter, who will be 40 in June and was limited to 17 games a year ago due to ankle and leg injuries. “I felt it was the right time. I have been doing it for a long time, parts of 20 seasons I have been playing here in New York. I think I have done it long enough and at this point do some other things in my life.’’
Jeter mentioned starting a family but didn’t stray into what else he will be doing a year from now when his Hall of Fame career will be complete.
Looking at question marks at third base and second base, the Yankees need Jeter to be correct when he says he can return to the player he was in 2012.
“I expect each and every year to be successful,’’ said Jeter, who hit .316 and scored 99 runs in 2012, when he led the AL with 216 hits. “I expect to do my job, I expect to compete and I expect to help our team win. If my expectation level doesn’t change, I would have been gone a long time ago.’’
Is it too much to ask a 39-year-old shortstop who essentially missed a year to repeat the offensive numbers Jeter posted two seasons ago?
The Yankees and Jeter are going to find out, and the partners are encouraged that Jeter is healthy.
“This has nothing to do physically, physically I feel great and looking forward to playing a full season,’’ Jeter said of announcing the retirement news.
Several times Jeter explained he didn’t want the final lap to be a distraction to his teammates and asked the media not to bother them with questions about his last season. At one point he told Girardi if the players needed to work, “Go work. Don’t feel like you have to be here.’’
Asked multiple times about the timing, Jeter stayed as consistent as he has been throughout his career.
“Because I feel the time is right. There are other things I look forward to doing. It’s a 12-month job and I put everything into it,’’ Jeter said. “I look forward to doing other things, [but] not yet. It’s all about the time. You can’t do this forever. I would like to, but you can’t do it forever. I feel the time is right after this year. I want to have a family.’’
First, his current family needs him more than ever in order for the Yankees to make sure they don’t miss the playoffs for the second straight season and sour the end of a career the likes of which may never be seen again in pinstripes.