Flashback Friday: Paying RE2PECT to the Captain

Derek Jeter played his final game in The Bronx last night as a member of the New York Yankees. The face of the franchise for the past 20 years is calling it a career and went out in the most memorable way possible, with a walk-off single to beat the Baltimore Orioles.

 To be clear, I am a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan and couldn't care less about the Yankees. This isn't about the Bronx Bombers though, this is about one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and someone who we will mention when we tell our kids about how the game of baseball should be played. When I was a kid, that guy was Ryne Sandberg, for the next generation, it's Derek Jeter.

So what does Derek Jeter have to do with video games? Well, it's Flashback Friday, so let's look back to when he first joined "The Show" and first put on the Yankee pinstripes in his rookie year of 1995, and the world of video games (yes, he was actually drafted in 1992 but he first suited up in the majors in 1995, that's what I am going off of).

20 years is a long time to keep an extraordinary career going in anything, let alone the 162-games-a-year marathon that is a Major League Baseball season, it also was a long time ago in the world of video games. Think back, in 1995 I was 10 years old and still in grade school, VHS was the way you bought your movies, concepts like High Definition, 3-D, DVD, smart phones, hashtags, all were still years away (a world without "hashtags", it was a beautiful time), and the Batman movie we all were looking forward to was Batman Forever (which I still say was an OK movie, Batman & Robin however....ugh....).

So back when Jeter first took his position at shortstop inside the old Yankee Stadium, here is some of what we were treated to in the video game industry:

- Star Wars: Dark Forces (MS-DOS, remember that?)

Star Wars crossed with Doom? Yes please! One of my favorite Star Wars games and a game I have no problem going back to. The game was also released on the original Playstation in 1996. I mean, playing with lightsabers and flying a TIE Fighter blowing up ships is fun and all, but there is something very satisfying about shooting a Stormtrooper in the goddamn face.

- Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Oh Chrono Trigger, one of the best games ever made and one of the hardest games to find (at least until the DS and mobile versions came out). Some of the best music in gaming and a compelling story, coupled with a unique combat system made for an absolute masterpiece.

- Mortal Kombat 3/ Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Arcade, remember those?)

By now I am sure you are aware of how much I love the Mortal Kombat series, and UMK3 stood as my favorite in the series (up until the most recent Mortal Kombat, and probably will be topped by Mortal Kombat X, due out next year, cause holy shit it looks amazing). Fast action, badass fatalities, new characters, it was all a bloody good time.

- EarthBound  (SNES)

Nintendo had a great year, huh? One of the most beloved games on the SNES (along with Chrono Trigger) and, again, one of the hardest to find, until the gift of Virtual Console. If you have a Wii U and haven't experienced this amazing RPG yet, DO IT!

- Comix Zone (Genesis)

A game I gravitated to due to my love of all things comic book related. It was a very stylized, simple, if a little clunky, beat-em-up that I did enjoy playing.

- Twisted Metal (Playstation)

The beginning of a new franchise for Sony and the beginning of the "Car-Combat Craze". I spent A LOT of time with the original game and hold this franchise very near and dear.

Other releases from 1995:

- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)
- The original Worms (PC, Amiga, Game Boy, Playstation)
- Tekken 2 (Arcade, Playstation)....2!!! Look at how many Tekken games are out now!
- The original Command & Conquer (MS-DOS)
- Bungie put out a game in 1995, it was Marathon 2: Durandal. I wonder if it had Easter Eggs about Halo. Seems like something they would do.
- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (PC, Mac). Yeah, there was Warcraft before World of Warcraft. Weird, I know.

Also in 1995:

- The original NES was discontinued. (The SNES is one of the best consoles ever, so this is fine, it's a business after all).
- Nintendo released the Virtual Boy. (Ouch).
- Sega released the Sega Saturn (Little less ouch, little more meh).
- The first E3 is held.
- Internet forum trolls rejoiced as GameFAQs was unleashed upon the world.
- Sony released the Playstation. As in the first Playstation.

Picture that last part. Derek Jeter has been playing baseball long enough to see every current Sony Playstation generation. That is incredible to me.
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The New York Yankees have had some of the best players to ever play the game wearing their uniform: DiMaggio, Gehrig, Ruth, Mantle, Jackson, Rivera, and you can add Jeter to that list. He is a surefire first ballot hall-of-fame player who took the biggest city in America and its favorite team (sorry Mets) on his back and led them to amazing things, whether it was the best of times (several World Series wins) or the worst of times (9/11).

This list is just what happened in video games in year 1 of his reign. Times have changed, people have changed, trends have changed, the game of baseball has changed. One thing stayed constant though: whenever you looked at the Yankee shortstop wearing #2 on his back, you knew he was going to give it his all for the team and the city he loved with all his heart.

Thank you, Derek Jeter, for working hard, playing hard, and inspiring so many younger ballplayers. While I may not like the Yankees, I have nothing but respect for Derek Jeter.