Honest Derek shows his true emotions

Not Honest Abe, but Honest Derek.

Watching Derek Jeter circle the bases after hitting the home run for hit #3,000 was one of those moments where it felt like we were finally seeing the real Derek Jeter after all these years. He was smiling ear to ear, openly celebrating his milestone (but not in a way that showed up the Tampa Bay Rays) and had that huge smile still plastered on his face when he was greeted by best pal Jorge Posada and the rest of the New York Yankees at home plate.

But it was even more refreshing and enlightening watching Jeter in his post-game interviews admit to being relieved that the pursuit is over and that he was feeling pressure to achieve the milestone at home in front of the Yankee faithful. Jeter admitted that he was lying to the media when he tried to act like the pressure wasn’t getting to him and that he wasn’t upset about the Rays refusing to play the split doubleheader, robbing him of an extra home game to get the hits he needed before the All-Star game.

During his post-game interview with Kim Jones on the field, Jeter started to get emotional when he heard the fans chanting his name over and over and Jones asked him how he felt about it, which he responded to by waving his cap at his fans. He showed even more emotion during the press conference after, which was yet another indication of just how much it meant to him to do what he did at home.

Jeter is never going to be Nick Swisher, wearing his emotions on his sleeve for the world to see. But I am heartened to see him start to be so open, whether it’s Jeter admitting to being angry at the Yankees for the way they treated him during his contract negotiations to him allowing camera crews into his castle to document his journey to 3,000 to his thrilling gift to New York and mutual love affair with the Yankees faithful yesterday afternoon. After all these years, we’re starting to see some of the real Derek Jeter and it’s quite a sight to see.