Derek Jeter has Grade I calf strain

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print

NEW YORK -- New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter left Monday night's Yankees-Indians game at Yankee Stadium after suffering an injury to his right calf while running out a fly ball leading off the fifth inning.

Jeter was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital for an MRI and, an hour after the Yankees had lost, 1-0, the club announced he had suffered a Grade I strain of the calf. It was not immediately known how long Jeter would be out of the lineup but before the diagnosis was known, manager Joe Girardi said he did not expect Jeter to play Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers.

"You just don't see him come out of games," Girardi said. "So my gut feeling is he won't be in there."

The Yankees said the next course of action would be decided sometime Tuesday.

The injury puts on hold Jeter's pursuit of 3,000 hits, a plateau he moved closer to when he singled leading off the bottom of the first inning. That hit gave Jeter 2,994 hits for his career.

Jeter had hoped to reach the milestone during this homestand, which has three more games to run before the Yankees leave for a six-game road trip to Chicago and Cincinnati.

But this injury makes it unlikely Jeter will be able to do it before the team heads out of town, assuming he is unable to play on Tuesday. Jeter, 36, has been a remarkably durable athlete, playing in at least 150 games for each of the last seven seasons. He has not been on the disabled list since suffering a dislocated left shoulder on opening night of the 2003 season in Toronto, an injury that cost him the first 36 games of the season.

Girardi said he believed Jeter suffered the injury on his first step out of the batter's box after flying to right in the fifth, and he appeared to hobble as he headed to the dugout. He headed straight down the tunnel to the clubhouse, followed by team trainer Gene Monahan.

"When he walked off the field you could tell he was done," Girardi said. "Obviously, we're worried about him. We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope it's not too serious."

Jeter's injury is the latest in a series of injuries to strike the Yankees, who already have eight players on the DL, the latest being Joba Chamberlain, who suffered a torn ligament in his elbow and is headed for Tommy John surgery later this week.

In addition, catcher Russell Martin missed Monday's game, his fifth out of the last six, with lingering stiffness in his lower back.

Girardi said he wasn't sure if the Yankees would make a roster move to compensate for the injured players.

"It's too early to decide," the manager said. "We got to see what happens with (Jeter) and we have to see how Russell is."

Last season, Alex Rodriguez missed three games with stiffness in his left calf, returned to the lineup for one day, and aggravated the injury. He was then placed on the 15-day disabled list and missed 14 games in August.

Derek Jeter's Top 10 Moments

Derek Jeter has 3,000 hits, and counting. But is it his greatest accomplishment? ESPNNewYork.com ranks his 10 best moments. Our Top 10  Rank 'Em »

More: Derek Jeter's Quest for 3,000 »

"You hate to see it," Mark Teixeira said of Jeter's injury. "He's not one to come out of the lineup unless it's something serious."

Jeter is set to become the first Yankee ever to reach the 3,000-hit mark. If he reaches the milestone over the next three weeks, he will be the fourth youngest player to get to 3,000.

Jeter said earlier this week that he would "love" to get his 3,000th hit at home and "be disappointed" if he doesn't.

He ranks 28th on baseball's all-time hits list, six behind former Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente.

Jeter is looking to become the 11th member of the 3,000-hit club to record all of his career hits with the same team.

"It's frustrating," Girardi said. "He's six hits away. You'd hope he could've did it (at Yankee Stadium). Obviously, he looked pretty sore."

Wallace Matthews covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com. Information from ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley and The Associated Press was used in this report.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print
• Subscribe

Wallace Matthews

ESPNNewYork.com

• Follow
• Archive

Wallace Matthews has covered New York sports since 1983 as a reporter, columnist, radio host and TV commentator. He covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com after working for Newsday, the New York Post, the New York Sun and ESPN New York 98.7 FM.
Follow Wallace on Twitter »  Chat archive »