A Sunny Place For Shady People: Baseball, Betting Favorites, & The Art of the Striptease/Shortstop Position

There’s a Salvador Dali museum not far from my current location. There’s also a place I’m referring to as my new favorite bar on the entire planet, which is where I spend my time  when I’m not sealed up in my bunker located on Fowler Ave placing bets and replaying the events of the day over in my head. While both of these locations possess a masterpiece or two, the place I’ve experienced the most magnificent work of art is watching Derek Jeter play his position at George Steinbrenner Field.

Thus far, I’ve attended two Yankees games of the three Spring Training affairs I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. My first moments and game  in Tampa I spent most of the time in awe and literally pulled in to the parking lot adjacent to Raymond James Stadium and Steinbrenner Field directly from my haul from Georgia where I stayed the night prior. I’ve been in Tampa for three days and while I’m already sunburned, road worn, dehydrated, undersexed, underfed, and overworked in respect to the various elements of this project, I’m loving every minute of it.

I’ve been hit by foul balls, found others in ponds outside of the practice fields at Steinbrenner Field, briefly interacted with players from past Yankees clubs, been lost, been found, made a new friend or two, and it’s only the first weekend. In fact, I didn’t even know what day of the week it was until earlier today. It’s like the film Groundhog Day, only it’s all good, I’m not driving angry, and I don’t have to wake up to Sonny & Cher. Although, the deejay at the club night before last announced that The Osmond’s band was coming in. Which made me have visions of Donnie Osmond receiving a private dance to the tune of One Bad Apple. What can I say, I’m a strange one. A little bit country a little bit rock n’ roll, but I digress.

More to the point, Derek Jeter has been at times called the most overrated short stop in Major League Baseball. Last season’s career lows in various hitting categories and an alleged decline in range in the field have many stating he is in the twilight of his career – which face it folks, he is – however, seeing Jeter work live and in person is still something to behold.

Despite my past love for the Columbus Clippers during the years of their affliation with the New York Yankees, I never had the pleasure of seeing Jeter play Triple-A baseball. In 1995, while Derek was making his way toward becoming a New York Yankees legend through the team’s minor league system, I was in Ft. Hood, TX beginning my journey toward what has become a life of finding myself in various locations at various times. While I’ve since seen him play with Yankees, it’s not until now during this recent version of running away from home that I’ve had the pleasure of doing so at an up close level to what I could only have imagined seeing him in the minors would have been all those years ago.

There’s a fluid motion the man has at the plate and in the field that one often sees on television. However, to see it live is indescribable. While I’m sure that some of you reading this are thinking that I’m just another brainwashed Yankees fan gushing over the franschise player in blog form, but brother let me tell you, Jeter is everything he appears to be via satellite feed. Even as he dropped a routine pop up in the sun during the game versus Minnesota everything the man did was pure, poetic, well-played, and professional, yet playful. But don’t be fooled, Jeter’s a killer. An assassin with swagger and you can see it. While some look at this artful athlete and his numbers and say that perhaps the Mona Lisa is falling apart, it’s apparent that the approach that’s been seen on highlight reels since 1996 is still same as it ever was. The objective is unchanged and while many believe that the colors are fading a bit, the work of art that is Derek Jeter’s legacy as a Yankees player is yet to be a completed piece that will one day hang on display in Cooperstown.  Boston may be the favorites this year in the AL EAST and having seen the line-up they’re planning to field daily up close it’s hard to say otherwise. However, seeing Jeter also makes one realize he too will have something to say about that.