Hall Will Be Calling for Items

Derek Jeter is a future Hall of Famer, but he's already in the Hall. Or at least some of his personal effects will be soon, now that he's the 28th player to join the 3,000-hit club and the first to do it as a Yankee.

He homered in the third inning off Tampa Bay lefthander David Price for No. 3,000, the second of his five hits Saturday.
"I have no doubt the Hall of Fame will be calling," Yankees president Randy Levine said.

Jeter's bat from Game 6 of the 2009 World Series and his cleats from the night he broke Lou Gehrig's franchise record for hits in 2009 already are in the Hall.

Now it's a matter of who gets what and what goes where from the afternoon of July 9, 2011.

Jeter has the baseball, compliments of Christian Lopez, the gracious 23-year-old from Highland Mills, N.Y.

"I have it, I held it, it feels like all the rest of them," Jeter joked.

Steiner Sports Collectibles has 24 bases and 42 baseballs from the game, chief executive officer Brandon Steiner said. Jeter will sign much of that memorabilia, he said.

Dirt from the infield also goes to Steiner, as does one of the two original lineup cards. The other original goes to Jeter.

"This is the biggest day in our company's history," Steiner said. "The phones here have crashed twice so far. The kind of weight this guy carries is amazing."

What Jeter will do with his uniform -- technically, it's owned by the team -- batting gloves, helmet and cleats remains unclear.
Everyone wants a piece of history, from the hundreds-deep lines of fans outside the merchandise stores and booths to the people in Jeter's own clubhouse.

"I came in here joking that I want him to sign a dozen baseballs for me," centerfielder Curtis Granderson said. "I got a T-shirt and hat out of it, so that's cool."


0 comments


Leave a comment