On May 25, 1935, Babe Ruth hit three homeruns and drove in six. The third homer was his last, and he quit the game five days later.
The Boston Red Sox urged Ted Williams to retire after the 1959 season in which he hit only .254 with 10 homers. It was the only year Williams hit under .300. He was too proud to go out after what he considered a less than stellar year. In his final season, he hit .316 with 29 homers. On September 28, 1960, he stepped to the plate at Fenway Park in the eighth inning against Jack Fisher of the Baltimore Orioles. On a 1-1 pitch, Williams swung and the ball flew into the bullpen in the deepest part of the field. It was his last at bat as a player.
Much has been said about Derek Jeter in this his final season as a New York Yankee. After 20 years, over 3400 hits, five World Series rings, and 14 All Star Game appearances, he certainly is deserving of all the accolades he receives. It’s why Nike had Spike Lee do the tip the hat commercial.
It’s also why Adam Wainwright, when Jeter stepped to the plate in the first inning at last night’s All Star Game, placed his glove on the mound and applauded The Captain with everyone else in the stadium. As much as I hate the Cardinals at least they have classy players like him.
After a 91 mph ball in the dirt, Wainwright threw a 90 mph fastball that Jeter laced into right for a double.
Then when Wainwright admitted that he kinda grooved the pitch to Jeter, all hell broke loose. My reaction was, so what? It’s one of those many unwritten rules of baseball, and one part of diamond ethics is that you show respect for the best players. To everybody who is giving Wainwright grief, I wanted to say, "Oh, like no one ever saw that coming?"
2012 was the last All Star Game for Chipper Jones and when he came to the plate, he got a standing ovation much like Jeter did, from the fans and the players. He hit a soft ground ball to second base, a play that Ian Kinsler, a four time All Star, could make in his sleep. Kinsler took a step to his right and then to his left and let the ball by him into right for a base hit.
In 2001, Cal Ripken Jr. stepped to the plate in his last All Star Game. He, like Jeter and Jones, got a well deserved ovation. It was the third inning, Chan Ho Park on the mound.
Wainwright's pitch tailed a little and was around Jeter's knees. Park's pitch was 92 mph, belt high and straight as an arrow. It's part of the game. I really don't care if Wainwright grooved it to Jeter, or if Han piped it to Ripken, or if Kinsler nonchalanted the ball at second base. Ted Williams was right when he said that hitting a round object moving 90 mph with another round object is the hardest thing to do in sports. Regardless of whether Wainwright or Han grooved those pitches, Jeter and Ripken still had to hit something moving really really fast. I doubt anybody complaining about Wainwright could do that.
I might have been able to catch that grounder, though.
