Waiting for Derek

Sooner or later Derek Jeter will get his 3,000th base hit. I'd love it if he got it on June 16 when my wife and I will be at Yankee Stadium watching the Yanks play the Texas Rangers.

It would be exciting but my world won't end if he does it before or after the 16th. I've been a Yankees fan since childhood. I was born and raised in The Bronx one subway stop away from the Stadium. My wife lived around the corner from the Stadium. It's hard not to root for the neighborhood team.

My sister and brother-in-law took me to my first baseball game there somewhere around 1940, I think. The pre-WWII and post-WWII Yanks were my favorites, particularly the '49-'53 crew under Casey Stengel.

The Steinbrenner years had their ups and downs and then came Derek, Jorge, Bernie and Mo and order was restored to The Bronx. But now, like so many of us, the guys are showing their age. The hits are not coming as often as they used to and the legs don't cover as much ground as before.

I see the diminution of my skills (if I ever had any) on the golf course. The ball doesn't travel as far, the putts don't reach the cup or skid several feet by.

But the sun still shines, the grass is still green (except on my lawn) and we'll hit the links another day.