Derek Jeter has “graciously accepted the role as the face” of MLB for nearly two decades, but with Jeter having played his last game yesterday, a “new generation of stars is poised to grab the mantle,” according to Will Graves of The AP. However, that is not something the "potential candidates want to talk about.” Ask Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen, Angels CF Mike Trout or Nationals LF Bryce Harper if they are "part of the group that will pick up where Jeter left off, and they sound downright Jeteresque: professional and polite, even if their play screams that they are more than ready to be the next chain in a link.” McCutchen has “already accomplished something Jeter never had to: transforming a moribund franchise into a contender.” He has “become the biggest star in a city” where Penguins C Sidney Crosby and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and S Troy Polamalu work. However, Jeter “became Jeter in October.” A’s LF Jonny Gomes said, “He became the face for his World Series and his postseason numbers.” Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira: “If Mike Trout wins the World Series this year, I think he goes to the top of the list. I think you could say the same with Andrew McCutchen. There are some great young players that are going to be around for a long time.” Graves noted Giants C Buster Posey already has a pair of World Series titles, but he “spends three hours a night working behind a mask, not the best way to raise your Q Score.” Dodgers P Clayton Kershaw has MLB’s “second-most-popular jersey behind Jeter’s” and Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig “may join the group, too, provided he can rein himself in, both on the diamond and off” (AP, 9/27). CSN New England's Sean McAdam said, "Baseball is going to go through a search process. ... You want to find somebody to replace Jeter and obviously that’s a very tall task" ("SportsNet Central," CSN New England, 9/27).
THE NEW KING OF NEW YORK: In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote as Jeter “leaves the stage,” it is NFL Giants QB Eli Manning who is “the No. 1 star in sports around here.” Manning “is the face of the Giants the way Jeter has been the face of the Yankees.” Manning “hasn’t won as much as Jeter did,” but he has “won two big games as big as New York has ever had in anything” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/28).
