On the brink of a career milestone, Derek Jeter has landed on the disabled list and will put his pursuit of 3,000 hits on hold for the next two weeks.
Jeter recorded his 2,994th career hit on Monday but suffered a Grade 1 strain on his right calf and was forced out of the game.
The injury isn’t severe, and typically it takes players about a week to recover. However, the Yankees training staff thought that Jeter might take a little longer, and the team decided it was best to place him on the 15-day DL.
Jeter was frustrated by the injury because he couldn’t play, not because of the milestone he was chasing.
“It’s frustrating but even if I wasn’t at this point I’d still be frustrated. I don’t like not to play. Whether I’m going for 3,000 hits or 100 hits, it really doesn’t make a difference to me. I’d rather be out there playing.”
The 36 year old shortstop (who will turn 37 during his DL stint) has spent his entire 17-year career with the Yankees and should become only the 14th player to collect 3,000 hits with a single team.
Jeter, a career .312 hitter, has struggled so far this year. He is hitting just .260, his lowest mark since 1995 when he played in only 15 games. He has gotten 200 or more hits seven times during his career and led the league once (in 1999).
The Yankee captain can return on June 29th, while the Yankees are in the middle of a home series with the Brewers. Following those two games, the Yankees head to Citi Field to take on the Mets before moving onto Cleveland. Following a six game road trip, the Yankees return home for four games against the Rays.
While Jeter has struggled so far this year, the team still might be giving him an off day or two if they want him to record his 3,000th hit at home.
Jeter also leads in AL shortstops in All-Star voting and should be able to play in that game as well.
Used with permission of the author.
Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.
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