Mr. Torre Reacts To The Captain's Milestone

From Jesse Sanchez:

"What can you say? I'm tickled for him," Torre said. "When you start saying names like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, guys like that, it's pretty amazing."

"Amazing" is one way to describe Jeter. "Consistent," "clutch" and "winner" are others.

...

Torre said he would send a congratulatory text or phone call when Jeter picked up the hit that moved him past the Iron Horse in the history books, and joked that he hoped Jeter would pick up.

But he won't be hurt if he doesn't get a call back. "How r u?" and "Congrats" are sometimes enough between old friends.

"Back in the beginning, I had no idea he'd be doing things Gehrig did," Torre said. "Anything Lou Gehrig did was out of sight for anybody. Even with his abbreviated numbers, a guy who played every day like that. It's tough to do that anymore. Players rarely stay with one team for their careers."

Jeter has gone on record saying that there has been no bigger influence on his professional development than Torre. He once said that it was a privilege to be around him and an honor to learn the game from him.

Another from Torre from John Schlegel and Rhett Bollinger:

"This kid came with his 'A' personality all the time," Torre said. "His competitiveness just never stopped. That's something you have to admire."

Regardless of your feelings towards the former Yankees manager, if Jeter says "there has been no bigger influence on his professional development than Torre," than I think we should all at least thank him for that.

Also check out these reactions from players and coaches around the league also from Schlegel and Bollinger:

Willie Randolph:

"It blows my mind that we're talking about this [record] because it's happened so fast," Randolph said. "At least to me it seems fast. It seems like it was yesterday that I took him out to dinner and we talked about what it was going to take for him to get on this club and be a fixture for a long time.

"He took my advice and worked his butt off, and here we are. We're talking about passing the greats in Yankees history. It blows my mind. It's a tribute to his consistency, his work ethic, the fact he's been fortunate to be healthy and out there every day, to the fact he's accountable every day. I have so much respect for him as a person and a professional."

Kansas City manager Trey Hillman, who also coached in the Yankees minor league system:

"When you put professional baseball players in the dictionary, he's one of the first names that should come up. Especially since the game has moved more toward self than team, he's the epitome of the team player."

Eric Wedge:

"the greatest championship player of our generation."

"He's consistent. A lot of players come and go in that market, and he's the one constant. And he takes on a leadership role, as well."

Brendan Donnelly:

"Jeter has been one of the best role models in Major League Baseball in recent history. He's done it the right way, from start to finish, at the highest level and probably the hardest place to play. He's been the face of Major League Baseball for years. You just don't hear guys staying in one spot that long. For him to do everything he's done, I think he's earned every bit of his fame.

"To me, it's not surprising that he's about to become the Yankees' all-time hit leader. He's always healthy. He's just done it the right way. I think more players in baseball should follow his way."

Howie Kendrick:

"I can't tell you how much I admire Derek Jeter, everything about him. He's a symbol of everything that's right about the game, as far as I'm concerned. He's a great role model for other players. When I tell my kids or grandkids about the great players from my time, I'll be proud to say I was on the same field with Derek Jeter."

I've said this before, but it's worth repeating; we fans are very lucky to have been able to watch this class-act do nothing but play the game the right way, win, and put up these Hall of Fame numbers. He's the face of the franchise and today, like Gehrig in his day, there is no better example of what a Yankee truly is.

Mark Feinsand has a breakdown of the Yankees player reactions here.

And for a look at some of Derek's not so great milestones, check out this post from SteveB over at Pride of the Yankees.