Derek Jeter is one of the greatest baseball players of ever. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Number 2 is a legend in Yankee history, and his postseason accolades were such that he is discussed among the immortals of this great sport.
The old adage that you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain, oddly enough, comes in play here. There was such an overload of attention and recognition paid to Jeter that it led to a portion of the sport, whether it’d be former players, or other team’s fans, to come up with the sort of If He Wasn’t a Yankee narrative.