Derek Jeter's impending retirement has been a focal point of New York Yankees rumors this offseason, and one surefire New York Yankees Hall-of-Famer was taken aback by the captain's decision to hang it up.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, legendary New York Yankees closer and recent retiree Mariano Rivera expressed a bit of shock over Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter's plans to retire after the 2014 Major League Baseball season--
“I didn’t see this coming at all. I didn’t see it." Rivera then added, "I was one of the guys that said they would have to pull his uniform off his body to take him out. But I was wrong, and this was a surprise to me.”
Both Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera announced their retirement from the New York Yankees in similar fashion, holding press conferences prior to the season in order to dispel any "will he, won't he?" rumors right off the bat.
This will be Derek Jeter's 20th season with the New York Yankees, and the 13-time Major League Baseball All-Star still has plenty to play for, besides a chance at a sixth World Series championship.
The New York Yankees legend currently sits 10th on the MLB all-time hits list with 3,316 (#1 among active players.) If Jeter stays healthy, he should be able to at least pass Cap Anson (3,435 hits) for sixth on the all-time hits list--and he is a throwback Derek Jeter season (199 hits or more) away from passing Tris Speaker for sole possession of fifth place all-time.
The New York Yankees shortstop has collected 200 or more hits eight times in nineteen seasons.