To Sign Jeter Or Not!!

[jetersbatboy]

Let's take a poll of what Yankees fans think!

I say don't sign him, if it cost you 3 year at $21 million!

ESPN http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/m...ace&id=5818664

[r_phelps]

If jeter was to leave NY, seeing him wear another uniform would be like Santa wearing a halloween costume.

[jetersbatboy]

I'm a huge Jeter fan, but I'm a bigger Yankees fan!! Do what best for the team, take a stance! 3 years at most and no more then $17 million....

[BULBUS]

The Yankee have the upper hand here. I think Jeter has to take whatever they are offering. What is another team going to give him???? Would another team give him more than say 7-10 mil for 2-3 years, I dont think so. Is there any other team that would want him as their short stop at this point?

He is going to reach 3,000 hits in 2011, does he want to do that in another uniform, especially when no other Yankees has done it before? Nope. I think Jeter should just take the offer and call it a career in 3 years. What else does he have to prove, how much more money does he need?

[cjclong]

Hope they reach agreement. At the end of your career you can't expect to be paid as much as in the prime. Would other teams like Jeter as their shortstop? Yes. At his current salary, no. I hope Jeter is one of those players who spends all of his career with one team. Great that Ripken did, hope Jeter does too.

[legaleagle92481]

he has made over 100 million in his career and countless more in endorsements. the yankees owe him nothing they have given him as much as he has given them if not more. he is clearly slipping and at his age once a guy slips he rarely bounces back. i would thank him, wish him well and invest his 20 million in carl crawford. they could use his relative youth, speed, defense and bat. this would allow them to sell high on swisher and maybe get some pitching for him as even if they get lee they still need middle of the rotation arms. Jeter would be a good fit on a team like the Orioles that is young and upcoming as he would fill the seats and bring attention to the team and he could mentor and set a positive example for the young players. The niners let Montana go, the Pack got rid of Farve, the Chargers got rid of LT so it is not unheard of for a team to let a longtime star go late in their careers.

[trsent]

he has made over 100 million in his career and countless more in endorsements. the yankees owe him nothing they have given him as much as he has given them if not more. he is clearly slipping and at his age once a guy slips he rarely bounces back. i would thank him, wish him well and invest his 20 million in carl crawford. they could use his relative youth, speed, defense and bat. this would allow them to sell high on swisher and maybe get some pitching for him as even if they get lee they still need middle of the rotation arms. Jeter would be a good fit on a team like the Orioles that is young and upcoming as he would fill the seats and bring attention to the team and he could mentor and set a positive example for the young players. The niners let Montana go, the Pack got rid of Farve, the Chargers got rid of LT so it is not unheard of for a team to let a longtime star go late in their careers.

Jeter's legacy would not be the same if he left New York. Isn't he team captain? George would never let him leave. I hope he stays and retires in a similar class as a Robin Yount or George Brett.

George Steinbrenner said, "I have always been very, very careful about giving such a responsibility (Captain of the New York Yankees) to one of my players, but I can not think of a single player that I have ever had who is more deserving of this honor than Derek Jeter. He is a young man of great character and has shown great leadership qualities. He believes, as I do, what General (Douglas) MacArthur said, that 'there is no substitute for victory.' To him, and to me, it's second only to breathing."

[xpress34]

Jeter needs to show he still has class and finish his career as a NYY.

Would he get picked up if he left - YES.

Would he get the money he may want - probably not.

Would hitting 3,000th hit in another uniform mean as much - NO.

He should make a deal with the Yankees where he takes less money on salary, but gets a % of ALL NYY merchandise with his image and such on it with the 3,000 Hit Club stuff that you know will be available the same day he hits that magic milestone.

Once he hits 3,000 as a Yankee, his stuff will make another leap in price. If he went to another team, his prices would probably drop and might spike to current levels when he hits 3,00 and then drop back off again.

Do the 'Hollywood' contract and take less $$$ and more % on sales / gross / licensing.

- Smitty

[legaleagle92481]

Jeter's legacy would not be the same if he left New York. Isn't he team captain? George would never let him leave. I hope he stays and retires in a similar class as a Robin Yount or George Brett.

George Steinbrenner said, "I have always been very, very careful about giving such a responsibility (Captain of the New York Yankees) to one of my players, but I can not think of a single player that I have ever had who is more deserving of this honor than Derek Jeter. He is a young man of great character and has shown great leadership qualities. He believes, as I do, what General (Douglas) MacArthur said, that 'there is no substitute for victory.' To him, and to me, it's second only to breathing."

If Jordan, Montana, Farve, Boggs, Namath, Unitas, Bourque, Tomlinson, Ewing and countless others could do it why can't Jeter? Captains and leadership are overated in sports. Who is he leading a bunch of all star veterans? His legacy is enhanced beyond what it should be anyway. Baseball is a team sport for four of his five titles he had the most expensive, talented team around him. They only did what they were favored to do. Jeter was clutch and all but they could and would have done it without him. The only indepensible player they had was Mariano. Jeter when you strip it all down is Roberto Alomar. They are clones of each other stats wise, both won multiple rings, gold gloves, hit .300 playing a mid infield position with alot of hits. Alomar never was held in the regard Jeter is held in he could not get into the Hall on the first ballot and he changed teams almost as often as Elizabeth Taylor changed husbands back in the day. If Jeter wants to squeeze the Yanks they should dump him. George was a great owner but he made his share of personnel errors and if you follow that logic here it would just be making another in his name. Jeter will get the money, refuse to move down in the lineup and in a few years the left side of the infield will be the worst defensively in baseball with two near 40 year olds who refuse to DH over there. Jeter does not hit enough to DH anyway so I don't know where he plays in two years.

[cjclong]

Saying the Yankees owe him nothing may be right in the short run, but not the long run. One of the things about the Yankee tradition is that a number of players like DiMaggio, Mantle, Ford, etc. played their whole career with NY. The Yankees could have let Mantle go after the 65 season and saved money. But you would have a different legacy and memory if they had. And some players simply ought to be remembered as playing all their career with one team, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Cal Ripken, etc. Jeter is in that group. And the Yankees aren't going to be stopped from signing a Lee and/or a Crawford by keeping Jeter, unlike a lot other teams.