In case you have not heard, Derek Jeter is retiring from the sport of baseball. And Thursday night he had the perfect send-off in his last home game at Yankee Stadium ever. 

As a sign of some divine intervention, Jeter’s walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth won the game, while simultaneously breaking Twitter and sending the fans in attendance into a frenzy.

In a way, it was the eliminated Yankees' own World Series, and they—or rather he, the one who has won real World Series—stepped up to the task and crushed it. 

For one night, for one most important and final night, Mr. November accounted for all of the Bronx Bomber’s runs and became Mr. September. 

---

In lieu of his exit, Jeter has been receiving the Tebow treatment, or the LeBron treatment, or the Manziel treatment- take your pick. Jeter has been the face of baseball perhaps more than ever the past few months, with you name it, overwhelming attention, face-time, countless commercials, coverage, and interviews. 

Some, like Keith Olbermann, rejected the Jeter love-fest while most admired it and contributed. 

I’m not inclined to do either. As a Red Sox fan I’m supposed to loathe Jeter, and as a baseball fan I’m supposed to adore him.

Well, what if I am indifferent?

Let me rephrase. What if I care more about how Jeter became what he is than Jeter himself? The truth is, I find the process far more interesting than the product.

This isn't to demean the 14-time All-Star and 5-time World Series champion, but rather to wonder how he achieved such a status of godliness among those who live vicariously through the national pastime. 

From early on in his career the talented shortstop found his groove. Slapping doubles to the opposite field and fielding grounders deep in the 5.5 hole, Jeter discovered, or rather established, his niche. 

During the regular season he became a natural through consistency, longevity and repetition, not through marvelous home runs or incredible athleticism. When amazing things happened, well, they just happened. But their rarity made them resonate far more. 

The playoffs were a different tale, where he smelled victory and chased after it. Here, he pushed himself to do more, all for the sake of the title, the trophy, the ring. 

He had moments, he had at-bats, he had games, he had seasons. And now it has all amounted to a remarkable career. 

Yes, he also just happened to be a part of the winningest franchise in the game. But Jeter didn’t make the Yankees great. The Yankees have been great from the days of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio to the days of George Steinbrenner. They made the Yankees great; Jeter merely contributed to extending their greatness. 

SEE MORE: Dodgers Vs. Angels: Imagining The Freeway Fall Classic

Now that’s not a slight to the Captain, it’s simply a recognition of his accomplishments that doubles as reality. So, I ask again, how did Jeter really become idolized as the ultimate face of baseball?

Simply put, Derek Jeter and the admiration that has followed him and will precede him for the rest of his life was and is a product of the times. 

Some may cite class, others will tout character and a few more will even propose integrity. Whether playing a game automatically grants you and garnishes you with such qualities seems unfeasible. Jeter may possess them, but Jeter, as you may have noticed, is not one to toot his own horn. He is a quiet, reserved human being confidently going about his business and his business above all; the game of baseball. 

As far as I’m concerned that may not be enough to elicit the branding that canonizes him, but it is also not enough to disprove it.

But if Jeter has not self-created or self-motivated this image of him, who has, and why?

We have. 

Derek Jeter, a winner above all. (@SportsCenter/Twitter)

As human beings, we have an innate desire to search the good even in the bleakest of bad. Call it seeing the glass half-full, call it the silver lining, call it being optimistic, call it whatever you want. Humans have in them the tendency to always find the perfect needle in the imperfect haystack.

And during an era where the steroid-laced haystack of Major League Baseball was tearing the sport apart, along came Jeter; the perfect needle to mend America’s beloved pastime had been found. 

It is not simply that Jeter did everything right on the surface, perhaps it was more important to notice how he never tried to do more than what was needed of him, whether on or off the diamond. 

He always knew his role and he knew what he was capable of, so involving himself in the myriad steroids and PEDs so many of his peers found themselves in, was of no interest to him. 

His youth and naiveness at the time, may have worked as a benefactor for such cause as it led him to focus on the one thing that would become the only thing he seemed to care about. The one thing that drove him and has motivated him all the way up to last night. 

Winning.

Winning may be Jeter’s greatest quality as well as his ever-present goal. It’s what’s made him such a great post-season player and it’s what has driven him to play the game he loves for 20 years. Surprisingly, that’s also something we can relate to. 

See, humans also have in them—whether diminished or augmented—a desire to win. Competitiveness drives us and is in our blood. For those of us whose athletic abilities are confined to personal recreation, we thoroughly enjoy seeing that same desire in athletes. Especially those we want to succeed. 

Jeter has transcended that desire and he’s elevated it to new heights. He has become bulletproof. Unable to be hated or bashed by anyone, admirable and commendable by everyone, he has earned our respect. 

Whether that is because of his abstinence to steroids during a controversial time or his commitment to winning above all, Jeter has certainly strung the right chords in a sport fan’s heart.

Unfortunately, we are losing our perfect needle in the retirement of the famed No. 2, but we will surely find another one. Because baseball has changed for the better, and it’s Jeter’s own markings and stitchings that he leaves behind as his legacy, which have made the future of the sport brighter than ever. 

A blameless product of the times and a relatable competitor that is leaving the game better than how he found it. Maybe high character, integrity and class are correctly applied to Jeter after all.

Reach Staff Reporter/Web Producer Paolo Uggetti here, or follow him on Twitter.