What could have disgraced a terrific series did not determine the outcome of the Rays-Yankees game last night. The Rays won 4-3 to take a half game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. The Rays are 88-57 and the Yankees are 88-58. They play four more games beginning Monday at Yankee Stadium. There will be an epic pitching duel between C.C. Sabathia and David Price next Thursday. Price and the Rays beat Sabathia and the Yankees this past Monday, 1-0 in 11 innings. The Yankees won Tuesday Night 8-7 in 10.
The game was awesome, but one play could have ruined the whole series and put a black mark on the game. Derek Jeter was at the plate and Chad Qualls of the Rays threw a hard inside fastball. Jeter jumped away but appeared to be hit as he was shaking his hand after the pitch grazed something. The replay clearly showed the the ball hit the nob at the bottom of his bat, not Jeter’s hand or his arm. The umpires ruled that Jeter was hit and awarded him first base, and Curtis Granderson came up next and hit a two-run homer to put the Yankees up 3-2 in the top of the seventh. Fortunately, Dan Johnson of the Rays came up in the bottom of the seventh and blasted a long home run to right which plated him and Matt Joyce and led to the Rays winning the game 4-3.
After the game, Jeter admitted doing the act on purpose. It’s cheating, I don’t care if the baseball people say that’s just baseball. It’s not. I played sports in high school and you do the right things to win: block hard, tackle hard, run the bases hard, play tough, suffocating defense in basketball, but you don’t break the rules. I’m not trying to be sanctimonious here, but it’s one thing when you teach your players to block inside the pads and they hold somebody. If they do they should be flagged. But doing what Jeter did is like a parent telling their child to cheat on a test as long as the teacher is not looking.
Call me old-fashioned but I find Jeter’s actions disturbing. He’s perceived as this great guy in baseball, but I don’t think so. I personally don’t like the Yankees. I think their extravagant salaries are way out of line and excessive. It’s not about developing players. It’s buying championships. It seems almost unethical. Compare the Yankees’ payroll to the Rays. The Yankees are paying somewhere around $220 mil a year versus the Rays $119. They are an overpaid, arrogant group of guys who seem to me to just coast and think they can win on pure talent. They did last year because they got lucky that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel didn’t use Cliff Lee more against them. They have a lot of talent, but they assume just because of who they are, they should win. And they’ll cheat if they can get away with it.
It didn’t work this time. The team with more heart and passion for the game won this time. Joe Maddon, the manager of the Rays, was disappointing in his comments that he would applaud one of his players for doing that. That’s the wrong answer, too. It was blatant cheating and the line that “that’s baseball,” doesn’t fly. It’s a terrible example for kids who look up to these guys. It tells them that it’s OK to do this. It’s not. I don’t care what Charles Barkley says, athletes are role models. At least that’s what Drew Brees says in his book, Coming Back Stronger. Some athletes believe they are role models for kids and act the right way. Apparently, Jeter, like Barkley, does not believe that. What he did was totally unethical and should not be allowed in the game. It’s no different than cheating on a test to make an A. It should not be tolerated. Baseball should do something about this. A suspension and fine for Jeter would be appropriate. Knowing Bud Selig, he’ll let it go which is the wrong thing to do.
(The real Derek Jeter, not the image he presents, will stop at nothing to win a game. Even if it means cheating to win.)
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