Sports are about moments. We saw one for the ages Thursday night.

 

Let me say up front I have no particular fondness for the New York Yankees. I don't despise them as so many seem to, but I'm also not a die-hard fan. As someone who grew up a baseball fan, I appreciate their place in baseball history and the iconic players that have worn the pinstripes. That's it. Otherwise, I'm somewhat indifferent to the Yankees.

 

So, with that as my disclaimer, let me say how much I enjoyed the Yankees-Orioles game Thursday night. Like many of you, in addition to my favorite teams, as I get older I root for moments. As sports fans, we all have them; those moments in time that we can recall with amazing clarity. We know where we were, what we were doing and who we were with.

 

Moments are the reason I fell in love with sports as a young kid. Moments are what drove me to pursue a career in sports for nearly 20 years and now as someone who talks about sports for a living, I root for moments more than I ever have.

 

Thursday was one of those moments. It's why we love sports. It's what makes sports so great and unique. Had Hollywood written a script that depicted the events of Thursday night people would have said it's hokey and not believable. Things don't line up like that in real life. Except you know what? They did on Thursday.

 

Here's a quick breakdown for those of you that may have missed it. However, my hunch is, if you're reading this post you already have an interest in sports. And if you have an interest in sports, there's almost no way you could have avoided the highlights and commentary about Derek Jeter's final home game. But, just in case, here's a summary.

 

I'll fast forward to the late innings where the story really got good. I changed the channel from the Texas Tech - Oklahoma State college football game to the Yankees game in the seventh inning, just in time to see Jeter come to bat with the bases loaded and the game tied 2-2. The very real possibility existed that this would be Jeter's final at-bat in Yankee Stadium so the energy in the stadium was noticeable. The bases being loaded in a tie game also set up the perfect fairy tale ending so many were rooting for. Instead, what happened was kind of pedestrian.

 

Jeter hit a broken bat roller to the shortstop, not the grand slam we were hoping to see. The Oriole's shortstop however, threw the ball into right field while trying to get the force out at second base. Two Yankees came across the plate to score giving them the lead 4-2.

 

They would tack on another run to go up 5-2 entering the ninth inning. Not a fairy tale ending, but a good story nonetheless. Jeter drives in the go-ahead run in his final at-bat in his final home game.

 

Just prior to the start of the ninth inning the speculation began. Former major leaguer Jim Kaat, who was serving as the analyst for the game on MLB Network, suggested that Yankee manager Joe Girardi may send Jeter out to his position alone. Give him a moment on the field by himself.

 

Good idea, but it wasn't to be. Yankee first baseman, Mark Teixeira ran to his position, followed by the rest of the team. When Jeter exited the dugout and ran onto the field he received a standing ovation.

 

As he stood at shortstop and looked around, you could see he was getting emotional. He didn't cry, but it was close…deep breaths, rapid blinking and constant movement is what we saw from him as the crowd chanted, "THANK YOU JETER clap, clap, clap." It was the first mini-moment of what was soon to be a huge moment.

 

Kaat and Bob Costas then began to wonder if Girardi would take Jeter out of the game with two outs and allow him to exit the field by himself. But, suddenly a 5-2 Yankee lead became a 5-5 game after home runs by the Orioles Adam Jones and Steve Pearce. What was sure to be Jeter's crowning moment had turned abruptly. Now the Yankees may actually lose the game. Uh-oh. Definitely not a fairy tale script.

 

Onto the bottom of the ninth. Jeter was due up third. Jose Pirela hit a leadoff single against Evan Meek and Brett Gardner sacrificed. That brought Jeter to the plate with the winning run in scoring position, but with first base open. The correct baseball strategy move would have been to intentionally walk Jeter to set up the double play. Not on this night though. I give Orioles manager Buck Showalter credit for allowing the moment to play out. Of course, had he not, I'm not sure he would have walked out of Yankee Stadium.

 

As many on social media predicted, Jeter then hit a line drive through a hole on the right side to score pinch-runner Antoan Richardson and give the Yankees the win, and more importantly, for those of us that are fans of big moments ... our moment.

 

With all of the crap we hear about in sports these days, Ray Rice, domestic violence, arrests and suspensions, having a moment like this was welcomed. This was about the game. This was about history. This was about the moment.

 

I have to be honest. I'm not sure how many more of these moments I will get as a baseball fan. I'm a lifelong Cubs fans, so my interest in watching games on television has fallen off dramatically in the past few years. With kids and running a business, I have less and less time to devote to the sport. As the Cubs' losses pile up year after year, my interest wanes even further. Consequently, so has my knowledge of current players. I don't know many of them the way I know Jeter. And when I say know, I mean as a player. That's what this is about for me. I don't know Derek Jeter off the field. He APPEARS to be a good guy, but how do you know?

 

I made a pledge to myself a few years ago that I would try and only refer to "good guys" in sports when I knew them personally. If not, I would honor and recognize their on-field exploits, but would try and refrain from the "good guy" narrative that gets pushed so many times without people really knowing that to be true.

 

As a player though, I could appreciate Jeter. One team, 20 seasons. He was never kicked out of a game. He won titles. He seemingly played in every postseason game that was played for decades. He seemed to step up in those big moments. That, I could appreciate.

 

Most of all, he played every day throughout a time when I followed the game more closely. I heard his name daily throughout baseball season for years, decades. I can't say that about any other current player. I'm just not as invested. Maybe a Cub will come along some day and they'll win and I'll become a die-hard again and this post will become obsolete. But, for now, I might have witnessed something unique for me.

 

One of the last baseball players I paid attention to ended his career. If that truly was it for me, then thank you Derek Jeter. You gave me one final baseball moment. And for that I'm grateful.

 

What did you think about Jeter's final game at Yankee Stadium? Leave a comment below or send me a tweet: @bradhowe07