September 25, 2014 will be remembered as the day New York Yankee fans everywhere said goodbye not only to a legend, but to the heart of the Yankees. Derek Jeter played his last game as the shortstop and captain for the Yankees on that night.

Jeter was the first player to be named captain since Thurman Munson died back in 1979. There was no other captain from the time Munson died to the time Jeter was name captain in 2003. Jeter has had a dream since he was young to play shortstop for the Yankees. He grew up in Michigan but would visit his grandparents in New Jersey during the summer, where they would take him to Yankee games. Jeter grew up idolizing outfielder Dave Winfield who played for the Yankees from 1981-1990. He started his major league career in 1995 and has been a Yankee ever since. In this day and age not many players can say that they have played their whole career on the same team.

Jeter was the last playing member of a group known as the core four. Along with Andy Petite, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera, the core four started together in 1995 and three out of the four played consecutively for 17 years. While the core four were together the Yankees went on a winning streak with five World Series Championships and only missed the post season once during this era.

When Jeter started off his career, not many people expected him to become such a legend or to lead his team to win the World Series five times. Not only has he won the World Series multiple times, but he has broken many records and achieved a lot in his career including; rookie of the year, five time Gold Glove award winner, Yankees all-time leader in hits, doubles, games played and more. Jeter’s biggest achievement is when he passed Lou Gehrig’s record with 2,722 hits back in 2009. Jeter finished his career as number six on the most hits list with 3,465 hits.

Jeter’s last game at Yankee stadium was played against the Baltimore Orioles whose current manager is Buck Showalter. The game ended in dramatic fashion for Jeter. After a blown save in the top of the ninth inning, Jeter came to bat at the bottom of the inning with a man on second, and hit the game winning walk-off RBI to right field for a final score of 6-5. It was an exciting finish for his last at bat at Yankee stadium, one that couldn’t even be scripted.

Throughout his career Jeter has had only three managers; Joe Girardi (current manager), Joe Torre, and Buck Showalter (current Orioles manager). Not only was the stadium sold out with fans there to say goodbye but so were all his managers and the core four. It was a dramatic and moving ending to a legendary career.

Even though Jeter played his last game in Yankee stadium there was still a series to be played in Boston. At the end of the game in Yankee stadium Jeter announced that he would not play shortstop any longer. He wanted his final view from the field to be from where has called home for so many years, the shortstop position in Yankee Stadium. Out of respect for the famous Red Sox/ Yankee rivalry and the fans he knew would come to Fenway Park to see him, he announced he would only bat as DH (designated hitter) during that final series.

At the final game in Boston, Jeter was honored with the respect of a sports legend. The Red Sox held a pre-game ceremony bringing Boston legends to the field to stand with Jeter. They showered him with gifts including a piece of the green monster with the legendary quote “RE2PECT” and autographed by all the Red Sox players on the current team.  The stadium that is normally known for chanting “Yankees s**k” turned into chants of “Derek Jeter.”  They applauded him and gave him standing ovations throughout the game. This demonstrates how Jeter has earned respect from fans and rivals all over, no matter what team they root for.