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Focus on Fitness

Be it baseball, football, basket ball or cricket – one thing is certain. The players need to focus on fitness. It is all too easy to lose that healthiness during the offseason. To be able to come to the field as spry as ever, to be able run like a deer on the field or court, to catch, hit and generally be all over the playing arena calls for real stamina and agility. Fitness is the key to remaining injury free during the season and to be able to give your hundred percent to the game when you go out to play. This is a critical truth which the Yankees captain Derek Jeter recognizes and that is in part the secret behind his ability to stay such a fine player even at the age of 36.

Jeter has also recognized the value of putting the past behind him. So whether he has had an excellent season or an unmemorable one, he prefers to look forward. To that end he keeps his routine normal as far as practicable during the off season. He has been working out regularly at Tampa, Fla. In December 2010, the Yankees and Jeter agreed to extend by another three years his $51 million contract with them. It should be kept in mind that Jeter won his fifth Rawlings Gold Glove Award last year despite the fact that his full season average of.270 is the lowest of his entire career.

It is perhaps fitting that someone playing for the same team as the legendary Babe Ruth should have actually surpassed him in the all time hits list. It is equally fitting that it should be none other than Jeter. He goes into the 2011 campaign with 2,926 hits behind him. So the magical target of 3000 knocks should not really be impossible to achieve given his track record. However, changes in the team are inevitable.

With Andy Pettitte’s retirement being an official thing now, Jeter will definitely miss his long time teammate. However, he feels that Andy has taken the right decision given how close he is to his family. Onlookers and fans are waiting to see how the team will settle the rotation issue. Speculation is rife that Yankees might transition Jeter to the outfield in the foreseeable future after some remark to that effect by their general manager Brian Cashman. Jeter prefers to remain focused on the job at hand.

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