Will Twins Fans Boo Jeter Farewell Tour?

[strumdatjag]

Jeter has announced that 2014 will be his last season. I never understood the booing of Jeter versus other more detestable Yankees (A-Rod for example). Nevertheless, I don't know if I'll be able to stand two back-to-back seasons of Yankees in a farewell tour. The Baseball Media will be gaga again for this (like last year with Mariano Rivera), and that includes the Eastern Sports Promotional Network (ESPN). Jeter was a great player and future HOFer, but I get sick of the Yankee-hype machine.

By the way, I predict the Lemmings at Target Field (i.e. our fans), who used to boo Jeter between Day-ohs, will cheer in lock-step to the ridiculous farewell tour.

[twinsnorth49]

I don't see why Jeter should be singled out, all of the Yankees should be booed, its an obligation.

 

If I'm there I might cheer the fact we've seen the last of him.

[glanzer]

I was very surprised how much hype the Mariano farewell tour received. Has anything like that ever happened to a player before? I don't recall a farewell tour with lavish gifts at every opposing stadium for Ripken or anyone else. I'm sure the Jeter tour is going to out-do the Mariano tour in every regard and we'll tire of hearing about it by mid-April.

[Longdistancetwins]

I do wish we could reign in the farewell tours. I’m not sure when they got started in modern sports; my guess it was with Wayne Gretzky in 1999. The Great One deserved it, but enough already!

[Benchwarmerjim]

I was very surprised how much hype the Mariano farewell tour received. Has anything like that ever happened to a player before? I don't recall a farewell tour with lavish gifts at every opposing stadium for Ripken or anyone else. I'm sure the Jeter tour is going to out-do the Mariano tour in every regard and we'll tire of hearing about it by mid-April.

 

Ripken announced during the season he was retiring, so his tour started in July

[LimestoneBaggy]

i don't see why jeter should be singled out, all of the yankees should be booed, its an obligation.

 

If i'm there i might cheer the fact we've seen the last of him.

 

harumph

[mikecgrimes]

I feel like booing Jeter simply because two farewell tours from the same team in two years is annoying. That being said I have more problem with Rivera, I really don't care about the guy who made the final out in many of our playoff losses, and despite the fact he was different then most closers he was just a closer. I respect Jeter but there are 28 other opposing teams that also have great players who sometimes retire. It's the other 28 teams turn.

[Thrylos]

I was very surprised how much hype the Mariano farewell tour received. Has anything like that ever happened to a player before? I don't recall a farewell tour with lavish gifts at every opposing stadium for Ripken or anyone else. I'm sure the Jeter tour is going to out-do the Mariano tour in every regard and we'll tire of hearing about it by mid-April.

 

I think that farewell tours are ridiculous. They put individual players above the game. And no individual player is better than the game. Any game, including the Twins-Yankees games at Target Field that would be overshadowed by Jeter than they were by Rivera and the "present" last season. Play ball.

 

Ruth had a classy Farewall. Gehrig too. All this farewell tour stuff is nonsense. But it is not unexpected in the day of mascot races and hot dog shooting cannons...

[J-Dog Dungan]

Mikecgrimes-Got to disagree with you. As much as I hate the Yankees (and especially A-Rod, he just needs to be kicked out of baseball ASAP), Mariano Rivera is THE Closer, not just a closer. He should be recognized as one of the top-3 relief pitchers of all time. Give the man some credit. And Chipper Jones had a fairly nice farewell tour in 2012. When a sure-fire HOF-er comes to the end of their career, they deserve to be recognized, like Jeter will be. Though Jeter was never quite as classy as Rivera, I am still willing to cheer him because he as a player deserves it.

[Danchat]

You said it, Glanzer, I just boo at the Yankees as a whole. I don't hate Jeter for anything. I just hate the Yanks in general.

[Badsmerf]

I boo Jeter. Why? Because its so ****ing fun. Not often do you really get to boo people. I don't mind booing him because he stands for the Yankees and their money mostly because I know he doesn't care. Its like making fat jokes with your fat buddy that laughs with you. Jeter is a great player and leader, a guy I wish the Twins had. Don't feel bad about booing him, feel bad for NOT booing him.

[JB_Iowa]

I wouldn't necessarily boo Jeter .... but I would boo all the drooling sportswriters.

[ericchri]

I'll willingly admit to being unable to remain objective about Jeter. I recognize he's been a great player, but as the "face of the Yankees" for the last however many years I just can't bring myself to even remotely analyze how good he truly has or hasn't been. I just don't want to know. I much prefer to remain ignorant about his full "greatness" and instead enjoy my hatred for the Yankees and use him as the focal point for my loathing. I don't really hate Jeter more than any other overpriced player who plays for the Yankees, but he's the easiest to point to.

 

I rarely make it to Twins games anymore as it's a bit of a haul to get there, and if I did, I probably wouldn't prioritize games with the Yankees to make the trip, so I'm unlikely to be in attendance for his "farewell" tour. I suspect if I was, I'd probably choose to boo Jeter as a semi-ironic nod to the fact that he's good, but I still hate him for being the glamour boy figurehead for the hated Yankees.

[Oldgoat_MN]

There is no question that the attention poured on Jeter's every move is nauseating. The Eastern sportswriters are a sad lot in the way they praise this guy for plays many others have made.

 

Also, I hate the Yankees.

I wouldn't cheer for the Yankees if they were playing Al-Qaeda.

 

That said, Jeter has been an outstanding player. I hope the boo-birds keep their yaps shut.

 

It makes us all sound kind of sad. Like Twins fans are whining that they don't have a SS who hits like Jeter has.

[Craig Arko]

I wouldn't boo Jeter any more than I'd boo Thome. A-Rod would be a different story.

 

Better to cheer for the Twins (today).

[cmathewson]

I don't even understand the question. Why would you boo a future hall of famer? Because he beat your team? Really?

[NealcpLA]

Jeter has announced that 2014 will be his last season. I never understood the booing of Jeter versus other more detestable Yankees (A-Rod for example). Nevertheless, I don't know if I'll be able to stand two back-to-back seasons of Yankees in a farewell tour. The Baseball Media will be gaga again for this (like last year with Mariano Rivera), and that includes the Eastern Sports Promotional Network (ESPN). Jeter was a great player and future HOFer, but I get sick of the Yankee-hype machine.

By the way, I predict the Lemmings at Target Field (i.e. our fans), who used to boo Jeter between Day-ohs, will cheer in lock-step to the ridiculous farewell tour.

 

I guess I view booing as something someone who isn't really very much a fan of the game might do. A person can be a fan of the team (or teams) they follow without denigrating the other team simply for being the other team...To me, this falls into the category of the 3 ****ty things (non) fans do at a game; the wave, beach balls and booing...

[Benchwarmerjim]

Dave St Peter tweeted this yesterday:

Dave St. Peter ‏@TwinsPrez See that Derek Jeter will retire following 2014 season. Great player and class act. Deserves better than boos during final MN visit in July.

 

 

Myself, I respect Jeter as a player and understand what he has meant to baseball. But, being the face of the Yankees and the [^*] ESPN does has made me not a fan.

Can one boo a player and have be a sign of respect?

 

^* graphic term moderated out by ashburyjohn

[Longdistancetwins]

I feel like booing Jeter simply because two farewell tours from the same team in two years is annoying. That being said I have more problem with Rivera, I really don't care about the guy who made the final out in many of our playoff losses, and despite the fact he was different then most closers he was just a closer. I respect Jeter but there are 28 other opposing teams that also have great players who sometimes retire. It's the other 28 teams turn.

 

I happened to be at Fenway Park for Mariano’s last visit there in September (“happened” in that I won this in a contest, but that’s a whole ‘nother great story). So, yes, the Sox did the whole nauseating gift presentation thing, with one exception: It was more about Mariano being such a good sport about the giving up the winning runs in the Sox’s utterly amazing 2004 comeback against the Yankees. It was pretty hilarious for me (a rather neutral observer), how, in the end, the tribute was more about Red Sox history than Rivera’s achievements. Our Twins did have a couple great moments against Mariano, too, but certainly not when it really counted

[twinsnorth49]

I guess I view booing as something someone who isn't really very much a fan of the game might do. A person can be a fan of the team (or teams) they follow without denigrating the other team simply for being the other team...To me, this falls into the category of the 3 ****ty things (non) fans do at a game; the wave, beach balls and booing...

 

And a person can be a fan of the team with some good natured booing of the opposition, as a way to feel more part of the game. I find nothing more patronizing than people who pass themselves off as "real" fans by pretending they make the rules on how everyone is supposed to behave.

[Craig Arko]

Good natured booing? Is that when you boo wearing nothing but a smile?

[LimestoneBaggy]

I boo the Yankees as I would the Russian professional wrestler (if I watched professional wrestling).

 

I also boo Gophers Hockey, cause, it's Gophers Hockey.

[savvyspy]

He'll be hurt 15-20 games into the season. The Yanks aren't here until the 4th of July. He won't even be here to boo at that point.

[h2oface]

Shouldn't one always boo all Yankees? Just as a matter of principle? Should Jeter be singled out and not be booed?

[FlsPrpht]

Should I go to a Yankees game I will be more than happy to boo Jeter. Put him on the Royals and he is not MLB immortality. He is largely a product of the team he broke through with. For him to break past that stigma, he needed to do so much more than he did with his career. All players are judged through the same lens. That will hurt him.

[ScrapTheNickname]

I don't even understand the question. Why would you boo a future hall of famer? Because he beat your team? Really?

 

I agree. It must be a cold day in February.

[70charger]

I just don't see it. I get that he's on the hated Yankees, and I hate the Yankees as much as the next red-blooded American. I also get that he gets fawned over by the media to an almost disgusting degree. On the other hand, he seems like a nice guy, he isn't a juicer, he's been a great player for a long time, and I just don't see anything that stands out that would make me hate him.

 

Two other things that go in the plus column: 1) He gives gift baskets to his mile-long train of one-night stands, and I may or may not be jealous of him. 2) He hit his 3000th hit (a home run) on my wedding day, which coincidentally put a halt to the very possibility of my having a mile-long train of one-night stands.

[Steve Penz]

I equate his team with the Soviet Hockey squad but he is cool. That said, I can't boo a wonderful and classy baseball player. He does not hit women, does not get DWIs, does not get busted for PEDs, etc. You hate him because he wins. I wish he played for us.

[LimestoneBaggy]

I'd be willing to make signs that read: "I respect your achievements in baseball, but you're a Yankee and therefore will be summarily booed."

 

I'm pretty sure it's in our contract as Twins fans to boo the Yankees (albeit in good nature). It's right above the clause that provide the White Sox suck, and right below the clause about feeling sorry for Indians fans.

[Craig Arko]

Perhaps every boo should be accompanied by a donation to the Turn 2 Foundation. That would show we're good as well as good natured.