Bittersweet Baseball- Update
Update-
Well, I can not report on how bittersweet going to Yankee Stadium was on Mother’s Day because I woke up with the stomach bug and couldn’t go : (. My kids and husband still went and brought me back a ball signed by Joe Girardi. Wasn’t the same as being there, but cool! I will have to wait until June 20 when we go to a game which happens to be on Old Timers’ Day. Maybe, just maybe, Derek Jeter will be there and it will be more sweet than bitter!
On Sunday, Mother’s Day, we will be attending a Yankee’s game. I am super excited because I love going to Yankee Stadium and what a great way to spend Mother’s Day with my family! However, I feel it may be a bittersweet experience knowing I won’t be hearing Bob Sheppard’s voice announcing, “Now batting for the Yankees, number 2, Derek Jeter, number 2”. My husband and I were lucky enough to have met Derek Jeter last June. Everyone thinks I have a thing for him, granted he’s good looking and a legendary Yankee, but my feelings for him are misunderstood. I think I didn’t even understand them until I sat down and wrote him a letter to hand deliver to him at the Meet and Greet last year. Below is the letter:
June 21, 2014
Dear Mr. Jeter,
I want to tell you what an honor it is going to be on so many levels to meet you tonight. I have been a lifelong Yankee fan and for me that runs deep and is special. My father loved the game of baseball and was a huge fan of the Yankees and Mickey Mantle. I have fond memories growing up watching Yankee games with him both on TV and at the stadium and listening to them in the car while I ran Saturday errands with him. Unfortunately, he died in 1993 of cancer at age forty-four and never got to see you play with the Yankees. If he had, he would have instantly become a fan of yours as well. You represent everything sports should. You are a loyal team member, great player, fantastic role model (for both kids and other players) and truly a Yankee legend. Guys like you don’t come around that often, and the Yankees have been lucky enough to be a legendary team because they have acquired such greats. I am so regretful that he never got to see you play, however, I am lucky to have had the opportunity to become a fan of yours at the same level he was of Mantle’s and I know he would have been a proud fan as well.
I have grown up during your career, from a teenager to an adult. I have attended many games as an adult and with my own children. Although my father never got to see you play, he lives on through my family. My son was born on Mickey Mantle’s birthday, October 20 and in 2004, during the fateful Yankee/Red Sox playoff game. I gave birth while the game played in the background. My now nine-year-old son, Luke, plays baseball and it is his choice sport. He loves the game! Thankfully, he has also had a role model like you to look up to. Raising children is a hard job and as a mother, I appreciate the positive morals and attitude for yourself and others that you portray in a world where there is a lot of negative and violence. Your Jeter’s Leaders program is a fantastic social change program. As a social worker and parent, I commend you! We have talked about your Pillars of Leadership and use them as a reference in life and on the field.
You have helped bridge three generations since my children never met their grandfather. You have given them and me the opportunity to love a team and a player as my father did. Meeting you tonight is to thank you for everything you have meant to me and my family! You truly are one of a kind, both on and off the field, and I thank you for twenty wonderful years! You will certainly be missed, a game without your presence will not be the same. My family and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!
With honor and gratitude,
Danielle Beerli
The Well Organized Mom 