After spending 20 of the past 22 years of his life suited up in pinstripes, Derek Jeter is planning to stay away from the game he became a legend in.
Everyone knows that Jeter likely will be a first ballot Hall of Famer once he is eligible in five years, will have his number retired by the Yankees and will continue to be one of the all time favorite players the Yankee fan base adore and cherish for a lifetime. Now that he is retired who can blame him for wanting to break away from his old profession and start up new ventures that take him in a different direction altogether.
Recently on an interview he did with a radio show, he stated that there are no plans for him to attend the early part of the Yankee’s games early in the new season. Via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com:
“I think actually I’ll be out of the country,” Jeter told SiriusXM on Saturday, when asked where he’d be for the Yanks’ opener.
In an interview launching a new weekly satellite radio show dedicated to his venture, “The Players’ Tribune,” Jeter reiterated his desire to enjoy some distance from the game as he begins his first full year of retirement.
“I need to get away,” Jeter said. “I’ve been playing this game professionally for parts of 23 seasons, so I need to get away from it.”
Jeter does have a home in Tampa, Florida where the Yankees have their annual Spring Training. It is not hard to see him drop in and check up on old teammates and take in how the team is looking and what they could potentially accomplish this upcoming season.
Now with the free time, he can do that and still go about doing whatever else he feels like and wants to put his time and energy in. Whether that is traveling the world or getting more momentum built behind his new venture “The Players Tribune” Jeter can have a nice balance in his life without getting burned out from all the trips all over the country and playing in game after game that the 162 game schedule for baseball lays out for all players to endure and deal with.
Jeter not attending Opening Day of the Yankee’s new season should be not shocking to anyone. He is retired now, still relatively young and has money that has enabled him to be set for life and be able to take on and embrace new challenges in different fields of interest.
Like anyone, being in one profession for as long as he was can have a growing desire to see something new, go somewhere and explore, get out of that career path that though has served that person well, can get tiring and sometimes hard to get excited and engaged for especially in the last years of a career where someone can see the finish line.
This is just one chapter of Jeter’s life that has been just completed, not the whole book. Jeter’s ability to keep a professional, clean profile and be a great people person, more doors will open up for him to succeed in new ways that baseball could not afford him, even when he was at the top of his success and career in pinstripes.
Though the days of seeing him play on the field are over, the moments we see him traveling the world with friends or jumping on a radio or TV show to do an interview etc are just beginning and people will be able to still continue to have a peak into one of the most respected and honored player sin any of the major U.S sports that we have seen in a very longtime.
