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March 12, 2007

What's In A Name?

I noticed in Lee Sinins' ATM blog just now that today is Ruppert Jones 52nd birthday. Man, am I getting old.

It seems like it was just yesterday that the Yankees traded Jim Beattie, Rick Anderson, Juan Beniquez, and Jerry Narron to Seattle to get Jones. Here's a wacky stat: One week from today, that trade will be 10,000 days old. I guess that means it was a long time ago.

Ruppert was supposed to be the Yankees "answer" in center field, when he was acquired. It didn't really work out that way. When I think of Ruppert Jones, I think of my dad singing a little tune, as he often did, when we would watch Yankees games and Jones would come to the plate. It was a play on Alabama Jubilee that went like this:

You ought to see Ruppert Jones,
When he rattles the bones...

Here's a funny thing on Ruppert Jones - his middle name is Sanderson, just like Derek Jeter.

No one has ever confirmed if Derek Sanderson Jeter was named after the hockey player Derek Sanderson, have they? I know it's reported. But, have we ever heard that from Jeter? I wonder why Derek has not relayed the story? Strange.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at March 12, 2007 11:15 AM

Comments

Maybe you could ask Abraham to confirm the Sanderson thing. That would've been a good question for the Q&A he did with Jeter.

Posted by: Jen [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 12, 2007 12:09 PM