Former Orioles player Boog Powell presents Derek Jeter of with a basket of crabs to mark his last game in Baltimore. Jeter’s goodbye presents have ranged from kayaks to guitars.Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
One thing that Derek Jeter knows for sure, he will never lack for something to do once he heads into retirement.
If he gets bored, he can always hop on the New York Yankees' pinstriped personalized stand-up paddle board that was presented to him by the Los Angeles Angels and take it for a spin in the Gulf of Mexico near his home in Tampa.
If he wants to read a book, he can do so from the comfort of a bench constructed out of bats, balls and bases that was a gift from the Chicago White Sox.
If he chooses to play 18 holes he can break out the new set of golf clubs that were given to him by the Houston Astros.
For a night out on the town he can gussie up by slipping into the pair of Lucchese Italian goat leather cowboy boots stitched with his name and an interlocking New York Yankees logo that he was provided with by the Texas Rangers.
For relaxation, Jeter could pick up the custom-painted pinstriped Gibson Les Paul guitar that he was given by the Cleveland Indians and try to strum a few notes.
That might be difficult considering that the New York Yankee shortstop doesn't even know how to play a guitar.
The season of accolades for the 40-year-old Yankee captain is almost at an end.
With Sunday's conclusion of the four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Jeter will have just four more home games to play at Yankee Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles, beginning on Monday.
After that, the Yankees will end their season with a weekend set in Boston where Jeter will wind up his storied 20-year major-league career against the Red Sox at Fenway Park where more parting gifts will be distributed.
So far, the fabulous career that Jeter has enjoyed has been celebrated in each of the 18 cities that the Yankees have visited, with Boston yet to come on the final weekend of the regular season.
It is not the easiest thing to have to co-ordinate, as the media demands on Jeter's time are excessive with everybody wanting to have a word with the man who is considered the game's greatest shortstop.
"The toughest thing has just been trying to manage everybody's expectations from a media point of view," said Jason Zillo, the Yankees' director of media relations. "I've had to learn different ways to say no about 10,000 times this year.
"Derek said it in spring training and he's been consistent with it all year, his primary and main focus is to win baseball games. Obviously he knew what he was getting himself into when he announced in spring training that this would be his last season. The fact of the matter is, it's a big deal for people and for fans and for teams to recognize him in their own unique ways."
And the gifts keep on piling up as clubs went to great lengths to try to come up with unique and imaginative ways to honour Jeter. And it was by no means an easy task to try to figure out what to get a guy who already has everything he needs.
All of the teams made donations of varying amounts to Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation. So far, donations have exceeded $365,000, including a $22,222.22 cheque from the Yankees during the club's own tribute on Sept. 7.
"The problem is, Derek's a really simple guy," Zillo said. "He doesn't break routine much. Ultimately I would say coffee and his foundation are really the two things he's passionate about. But also he's made it known he wants to go out and experience the world when he's done and several teams took that into consideration when they honoured him."
Zillo said that after Jeter receives his farewell gifts the Yankees arrange to have them all shipped to his Tampa home which awaits his arrival after the season concludes.
That doesn't include some of the perishable goods that Jeter has been given, such as the custom cake given to him by the New York Mets celebrating the 2000 Subway Series featuring the Yankees and their crosstown rival.
The cake featured the No. 7 and 4 New York subway trains that carried the fans to the respective ballparks.
Zillo said that cake was enjoyed by Jeter and his Yankee teammates, which was likely the same fate as the basket of jumbo steam crabs Jeter was presented in Baltimore on Sept. 14 by the Orioles.
That gift, along with an oversized crab mallet made of ash, was presented to Jeter by Boog Powell, a former Oriole fan favourite, along with another cake in the shape of No. 2, the jersey number Jeter has made famous.
On Aug. 31 in Toronto, the Blue Jays presented Jeter with a customized trip for two to Banff Springs, including a three-night stay at the royal suite at the Fairmont hotel.
The trip, worth $13,500, also includes a helicopter tour of the Rocky Mountains, golf or ski lessons and a private cooking lesson with the hotel's executive chef.
"We absolutely wanted something to be a gift to Derek Jeter, not just from Toronto but from Canada and very much representing Canadians across the nation," said Anthony Partipilo, the Blue Jays vice-president of marketing and merchandise. "And we definitely wanted it to be something he would cherish and keep rather than something he would put in storage somewhere and not really look at."
Partipilo said the Blue Jays were originally trying to come up with a gift that would tie into the 100th anniversary of Babe Ruth's first-ever professional home run that he hit on Sept. 5, 1914, at Hanlan's Point on Toronto's Centre Island.