Derek Jeter — where fantasy becomes reality.
As the shortstop of a generation awaits a great honor known only to few ballplayers, there is another in the works for Derek Jeter — this one next to his old workplace in the South Bronx.
Ahead of his anticipated Hall of Fame induction, two Bronx councilwomen are introducing legislation to rename East 161st Street, located right outside of Yankee Stadium and then some eastbound blocks, as “Jeter Street.”
Jeter Street will also intersect with River Avenue, which was renamed to “Rivera Avenue” upon the unanimous Cooperstown induction of fellow colleague, Mariano Rivera.
Depending on the final vote tallies next week on Jan. 21st, it is possible for that intersection to become the world’s only to feature two unanimous hall of fame baseball players.
At the time, Rivera’s milestone went less than appreciated in The Bronx, according to the 161st Street BID Director, Cary Goodman.
“When Rivera Avenue happened we did a toast to Mo with apple juice underneath the street sign and that was the only thing to really happen in The Bronx for him,” Goodman explained.
Learning from that isolated celebration, Goodman wants to use Jeter Street to bring the old captain back into his old stomping ground and interact with the Bronx community.
He threw around the ideas of having Mr. 3,000 visit nearby Lou Gehrig Academy or some senior centers in Concourse Village around the time of the street’s unveiling — which does not have a determined date as of yet.
“We want Jeter to celebrate the honor here in The Bronx, where he spent his entire playing career,” Goodman said.
“It’s pretty impossible to hate Derek Jeter,” he continued, calling this news additional “bad karma” to Red Sox and Astros fans.
While on the topic of news and facts, here’s a friendly reminder that Jeter singlehandedly, fairly won four times the amount of World Series titles than the Houston Astros ever have.
Political sources say that after the bill is introduced by “home team” councilwoman Vanessa Gibson and neighboring co-sponsor Diana Ayala then the Jeter Street vote will essentially be a formality — just like the one in Cooperstown.
As the proposed Jeter Street became widely covered, Gibson and Ayala released a joint statement, noting that they both “recognize the importance of Derek Jeter and the Yankees to the Bronx,” while continuing to express gratitude for the nationwide, overwhelmingly positive feedback to the plan.
The political duo also stated that this process is still a ways off from its final inning; though some Bronx stakeholders like the 161st Street BID had been made aware of the Jeet Street idea earlier this week.
