Captain is a high rank in the Navy, and in sports, it has some significance only in pro hockey, for traditional reasons. In baseball, for the Yankees, and in modern MLB rosters with so many multi-millionaires with guaranteed contracts, I don’t think the captain or any self-anointed player-leader means much. Does it say in Jeter’s contract, “Player will (in addition to participation in all Grapefruit and regular season games, practices, and public appearances required by the Yankees or Major League baseball,) take the psychological temperature, morale and attitude levels of all his teammates, and take appropriate actions to rectify any dissatisfactions, dis-harmony or negative vibrations which may unfavorably impact the won-loss record of said Yankees, without any authority other than the power of his personality and moral suasion.”  Of course that is ridiculous – but only because that job description is not realistic in 21st century major league baseball.

Even in “the olde days” do you think Reggie Jackson or Graig Nettles gave two cents that Munson was the Captain? Don’t follow Jeter, watch your reality meters. True, Jeter does not have the personality, drive, or motivation to deal with the rest of the egotists who are major leaguers today. But if he tried it would be doomed to failure – for me, that is not a weakness in his personality, it just makes him smarter than the average shortstop.