One of Toronto Blue Jays chief rising stars, Arjun Nimmala, has made quite a few headlines recently. His journey towards baseball has been nothing short of phenomenal. Now he’s working hard in order to become one of the great shortstops of his time. Recently featured in an EXCLUSIVE interview with EssentiallySports, Nimmala told many interesting stories and experiences as a young upcoming slugger. However, when asked if the ex-New York Yankees captain inspired him, Arjun had a surprising answer.
Instead, Nimmala cited a New York Mets player as his source of inspiration. The manner in which he overlooked Jeter suggests that he might contribute to adding a dimension to the rivalry between the Yankees and the Blue Jays in the future.
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Francisco Lindor inspired Arjun Nimmala more than Derek Jeter
A couple of days back, in an EXCLUSIVE interview with Essentiallysports, Nimmala revealed how he got into baseball. On being asked whether Derek Jeter inspired him to become a shortstop, he denied it straightaway and named Mets’ Francisco Lindor as the to inspire him. The 18-year-old said, “Derek Jeter is a great player. You know, a great role model. But to me, you know, I always loved to watch like Derek Jeter highlights and stuff like that, but I wouldn’t say he really inspired me to really play shortstop.”
“But he’s a great player, and he inspired a lot of players, but for me it was always.. I never really grew up watching Derek Jeter. I grew up watching like Lindor and people like that,” continued Arjun in the EssentiallySports EXCLUSIVE interview. He also revealed how big of a fan he is of Lindor. Now they both have their names often taken together owing to their similar skills. But it is quite a surprise that Derek Jeter hasn’t really inspired him.
While Nimmala acknowledges and respects Jeter’s skills, it’s understandable why he expressed admiration for a New York Mets player. At 18 years old, Nimmala was born in 2005, which means he didn’t witness Jeter’s prime years firsthand. Lindor, on the other hand, debuted in 2015, right when Nimmala turned 10. Nimmala naturally gravitates towards someone he watched during his formative teenage years, and in this case, the now-two-time Gold Glove winner became that influential figure for him.
Nimmala has joined the Toronto Blue Jays as one of their biggest prospects. So now he wants to join Lindor in the list of great shortstops. Experts have already said that he has the potential to have a career just as successful as his idol. It’ll be very interesting to see how Arjun Nimmala forges his path from hereon.
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Deepanshi Bajaj