Jeter: A Poem

Jeter: A Poem by Don Zimmer

They're making him out to be the bad guy,
What has he done wrong? Like I say, if A-Rod

hits a home run tomorrow, Jeter will be on
the top step, the first guy shaking his hand.

What do you want him to do, put his arm
around him and kiss him?

Is it Jeter's fault because some newscaster
says A-Rod hasn't done this under pressure?

I'm not saying this, but I read it. We've all
read it. Is that Jeter's fault? What do you want

Jeter to do? Jeter goes out and gets 200 hits a year,
plays like hell, plays hurt, nobody knows about it.

That's the kind of person he is.
If that's not leading,
I don't know what leading is.

Now, here's a guy. What's A-Rod make, $25 million a year?
What is it that Jeter's done any different with him than

what anybody else has done? How in the hell can Jeter
be criticized over A-Rod? I'm trying to figure it out.

I don't even understand it, but it makes me sick
because I'm a Jeter man -- me and millions others.

All I know is I know what Jeter is,
And for Jeter, they're making him out the villain.

How in the hell could you ever make Jeter the villain,
of all people, in this game?

When it all happened, and A-Rod got the big contract,
he made a comment, and you guys have to go back and look it up,

he said Jeter can never get a contract like that because
he doesn't hit home runs like I do,

Is it Jeter's fault he's playing in New York with the Yankees
and they win four World Series? You're going to hold that against him

towards A-Rod, who has never won nothing?
That was my opinion,

So I'm not trying to bury A-Rod,
but people are trying to bury Jeter,
I don't understand it.

"You take a guy [such as Jeter], who probably in 13 years that
I've known him, is probably the best man I've known in those 13 years.

He's never changed from '96 to today -- the way he acts.
The way he acts on the field. The way he plays. The way he performs,

and now, this criticism? It doesn't make sense.
It's tough for me to figure it out.
I'm just not smart enough to figure that one out.

Jeter getting criticized, not being the captain, not being this, not being that.
Knowing Jeter like I know him, if he thought that would help the team,

making A-Rod the captain, he'd be willing to do that,
That would be my guess knowing him like I do.

I don't know how he could be any better [of a team guy]."