5-star effort by Yankee captain
NEW YORK -- Think David Ortiz would like to have some of those comments back? You know . . . when he said Derek Jeter was not his idea of MVP material?
Ballots have already been cast (that's the rule with the Most Valuable Player award), but Jeter made his case once again last night. The Yankee captain cracked five hits (two singles, two doubles, a homer) and scored three runs in New York's 8-4 opening-game Division Series victory over the Tigers. He became the sixth player in history to record five hits in a postseason game. He also made a spectacular play, starting a 6-4-3 double play to get the Yankees out of a jam in the third.
Anyone still want to talk about Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, or Ortiz in the wake of Jeter's tour de force?
Jeter is baseball's Tom Brady. Like QB 12, he is a leader, a winner, loves Michigan, dates movie stars, and gives credit to his parents. He's gracious in victory and defeat. He's tough and he's clutch. Try to look past the pinstripes, Red Sox fans: You want your kids to grow up to be like Derek Jeter.
A player couldn't do much more than Jeter did against the Tigers. It was mildly reminiscent of the late Kirby Puckett's one-man show in Game 6 against the Braves in the 1991 World Series. Every time the Tigers saw some light, Jeter did something to shut the door.
``He just seems to relish this atmosphere," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. ``Everything worked well for him tonight.
``I think it's somewhat his personality and competitive drive. It comes out at this time of year, in the big games, whether it's Boston or any games that are significant. He doesn't go up there thinking negatively. Failing doesn't scare him."
``You're gonna fail more than you succeed at baseball," said Jeter. ``But we've been in this position a lot. You can't be afraid to fail. When I'm in that situation, I feel as though I'm going to produce to come up with a hit or make a play."
Jeter already had one hit when he came to the plate with Johnny Damon aboard and none out in the third. It was still a 0-0 game. He moved Damon to third on a line double to left-center, and both scored on a double by Bobby Abreu. The Yankees led, 5-0, before the Tigers recorded an out in the inning.
Jeter went back to work in the sixth after the Tigers had cut the lead to 5-3. With Damon on first and two out, Jeter ripped another double to left. Abreu knocked them both in again and it was 7-3.
It was 7-4 when he came up for the final time in the bottom of the eighth, and he crushed a 1-and-1 Jamie Walker pitch for his 17th postseason homer. Yankee fans begged for a curtain call, and the captain complied. Jeter has 147 postseason hits, more than any other player in baseball history. He was the middle man in the 4-6-3 double play that ended the game.
``The guy is amazing," said Abreu. ``He's a gamer, he's a leader, and you can learn a lot of things from him. It's amazing to watch him play."
``He had a pretty good night," deadpanned Tiger manager Jim Leyland. ``I've seen him do that before."
Returning to Michigan will be interesting for Kalamazoo-bred Jeter. ``I don't think they like me too much in Detroit to begin with," he said. ``Every time I've gone there, they say I'm a sellout because I play in New York. My dad was a huge Tiger fan growing up. I wasn't, but this is going to be fun. It's great for the city that they have a winner again."
Red Sox fans don't need a tutorial in Jeterology. Boston has finished behind the Yankees for nine consecutive seasons, and Jeter has been the New York shortstop every time.
There are slicker fielders, and shortstops who hit for more power, but none can control a game like the Yankee captain. Remember the night he dived into the stands going after that foul pop against the Sox? The extra-inning game in New York in 2004? That was the play that ultimately made Boston realize that Nomar Garciaparra (he was sulking on the bench when Jeter put himself in the hospital) had to go. Jeter also had a pretty significant hit in the back-breaking fourth game of the five-game sweep in Fenway last summer.
But that's just us being provincial. For most of Baseball America, Jeter's signature play was his mind-boggling (how'd he get there?) catch-and-relay on the play that erased Jeremy Giambi at the plate in the Division Series in 2001.
Jeter batted .343 this year (second in the league) with 97 RBIs and 34 stolen bases in 154 games. He enjoyed his fifth 200-hit season, a record for major league shortstops. When Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield went on the shelf -- and when Alex Rodriguez went through his late-summer crisis of confidence -- Jeter was the glue that held the Yankees together. No doubt he's one of the reasons you don't see Yankee superstars quit in the middle of the pennant race.
Another reason he should be American League MVP.
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com. 
