COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The echoes last forever, but the real thing — that dizzying sound of mass admiration — rarely returns. Players are not rock stars; they cannot give performances decades past their prime, cannot summon, again and again, the same roars they earned long ago.
So it was that Derek Jeter began his Hall of Fame speech on Wednesday by remarking on the rhythmic chants that once were a part of his everyday life. De-rek Je-ter! De-rek Je-ter! He heard that again here, from the hills beyond the Clark Sports Center, before his career valedictory.