Afternoon Baseball

In some senses, there isn't one. Everybody is going to have their critics. But in my mind, such an athlete is at the highest level of their sport -- not necessarily a Hall of Famer, but pretty damn close. They usually have won, but in watching them play, you couldn't tell whether that was the case. They make teammates better on the playing field and guide them off of it. They have a work ethic that no one can find lacking. They don't have to be silent, but they aren't outrageous to the point of self-promotion or needless distraction.
Perhaps most key is the recognition from the enemy -- competitors and the fans of competing teams. Bill Simmons put it well when he said of Kirby Puckett:

'[T]here aren't many players who come along and make you think, "Even though he's not on my team, I still like the guy and wish that more players were like him" … but he was one of them.'

Who else is in that category? Certainly Michael Jordan, even if there were teammates who didn't like him and gamblers who liked him a little too much. Nolan Ryan, even before he became the old man dominating kids. Roger Clemens, in many ways -- except for the contingent of Red Sox fans who feel he tanked 1993-1996 (Simmons has danced around this), which is a curious idea.
In football, Joe Montana was an example. Emmitt Smith, save perhaps his final pursuit of Walter Payton's record. Vince Lombardi, as a coach, and Bart Starr as his quarterback. Tom Brady is fast approaching this category.

There's lots of other examples in other sports. But let's turn back to baseball's recent past. Greg Maddux, in his role as mentor to the Cubs' staff and his dozen years as the Braves' ace, comes to mind. Edgar Martinez, even though he wasn't out in the field. Albert Pujols, even in a clubhouse full of proven leaders such as Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. Jim Thome has always been lauded as this type of guy, although apparently the Phillies never wanted to buy into it.

You knew this was coming around to the Yankees. Derek Jeter, obviously, is that guy. ESPN.com didn't pick him as their face of baseball for nothing. Bronx Banter has thoughts on this.

Now, it's far from sure that baseball fans love Jeter, or even respect him. There's a healthy hate out there. But most of it, quite frankly, is a hatred of those who perhaps overhype the Captain's greatness in areas where he's not the greatest (his fielding, for instance). They charge that hatred into hatred of Jeter, which is a foolish mistake. Jeter never talks up his game, nor his preparation. You may say he never talks up anything, but that's his perogative. He's the consummate professional, and the respect he gets from within the clubhouse is immense, especially considering the A-list egos that pervade this team.
The other quality I may have left out in the universally respected athlete is an inner calm and awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses. Jeter drives himself to keep trying to get better, but clearly has enough confidence in himself to let the misdirected criticisms fall by the wayside.

The clearest evidence will be years after he retires. All else will be forgotten, and the criticisms of Jeter's place in history will be ones of splitting hairs -- how high is his standing, rather than does he have a standing. That is, as long as he doesn't attack some woman in a restaurant like Puckett (allegedly) did.