I called it.
Last year I told anyone who would listen that Derek Jeter was going to do EXACTLY what Mariano Rivera did last season: announce his retirement just prior to Spring Training in 2014 and then go on a year-long retirement tour. And sure enough, with pitchers and catchers set to report to most teams this weekend, Capt. Tange announced that 2014 will be his final season.
I don't begrudge Jeter doing exactly what Rivera did. He saw the way all MLB teams honored his teammate, so why shouldn't he do the same?
But if you thought Rivera's Retirement Tour was a bit insufferable towards the end, you ain't seen nothin' yet with this coming retirement circus.
And Jeter will conclude his career on September 28th at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, the Yankees final game of the season. Unless it means something (and I'm betting it won't), Jeter will likely play his last games in the Bronx among the home crowd before then, like Rivera did last year, and Ted Williams did in 1960.