Growing up I was always miffed that I was not old enough to have enjoyed the New York Yankees success in the late 1970s. By the mid-80s when I was a pre-teen and had a better sense of the world, the Yankees were a hot mess. Just think about it, George Steinbrenner was banned in this period for trying to setup/blackmail future MLB Hall of Fame player, Dave Winfield whose only blemish was that in Steinbrenner’s mind Winfield was not as good/marketable as Reggie Jackson.

The last twenty years have been far different. While the Yankees have not been the same juggernaut that they were in the late 90s, the team continues to contend and has the playoffs more often than not this past decade.

It goes without saying that Derek Jeter was a pivotal force in the Yankees 1990s renaissance. And while I normally cringe at sendoffs for pro athletes, I have to admit that the tributes to Jeter have for the most part been really well done.

The Gatorade ad below is another one of the tasteful goodbye’s to the Yankee Captain.