The past two seasons have been seasons of nostalgia for the New York Yankees. Last season we all bid farewell to our always reliable, even keeled Andy Pettitte, and the greatest of all time, Mariano Rivera. This season, we say goodbye to the last link to those glory days, the days where 91 wins was a subpar season, and the World Series was almost a given. We say goodbye to Derek Jeter.

Despite being surrounded by mercenaries from Baltimore, St. Louis, and almost everywhere else in recent years, the one constant has been Number Two trotting out to shortstop. If you were around in the late 1990’s, you saw this guy take the league by storm as a rookie, become the heart and soul of the greatest franchise in sport, and then become one of the most respected men to ever step on a diamond.

In 2014 we say farewell. I now know what my father went through when he watched a hobbled Mickey Mantle in 1967. It is unreal that this guy that has been by far my favorite player for my entire life not perform to his usual standards, yet I still expect a two strike opposite field hit every time I see Jeter step in the box. My mind knows better, but my heart sure as hell does not.

Mother Nature is undefeated, and it is time to move on. The Yankee dynasty is over, and so is the career of the captain. Yankee fans have had the unique privilege of going through what we are all going through right now; saying goodbye to a childhood hero. As time has gone by, Derek has cemented himself alongside some of the all time greats, and when our children are old enough to go to the ballpark, they will have their own hero. Just like my father told me “your guy is good but he wasn’t Mantle”, and my grandfather before him would say “Mantle’s alright, but he’s no DiMaggio,” I will be able to say the same thing. “(player to be named later) is decent, but you never saw Jeter play kid. You never saw the Captain”. I am grateful that I have that.

I can look back on all the great moments, Mr. November, the flip play, diving face first into the stands, the tearful farewell speech for the house that Babe Ruth built, the five World Series rings, I can go on for days. There are too many memories. All we can do is be excited for the future and hope another Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, or Derek Jeter come along and light up the Bronx.