It's probably more appropriate for the sports watercooler, but since we're here...
Plays like that one on Ortiz are some of my favorites. That both players could kid each other after says a lot about them. I can't ever recall Ortiz being accused of being a great baserunner... Good enough, but not exactly a speedster. That might just be Jeters greatest play ever!!!!!
The flip play was the one I was thinking of most when I mentioned awareness. I believe most pros, especially shortstops and second basemen could make the play physically.
What was hard was knowing the throw was going to be past the firs baseman and off line, and getting over to be in position to make the play. That's the part of it that impresses me.
Looking at the slow motion of the tag, at the end of that video, I think the ump called it wrong. But that's practically ancient history and it was very close. Sometimes I think there's a "great play" fudge factor to some calls. and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The jump and long throw was good, maybe a bit better than most. But for a while, it was almost routine for AL shortstops. Jeter and Nomar made plays like that regularly, and Arod, and Tejada weren't far behind. I looked for Garciaparra highlights, but most focus on his hitting.
The dive is what it is. It's a bit above and beyond what most players would do, but most of the great ones have that focus on getting the ball and making the play.
On the videos I found, one that stuck out was Boone? and Rose. Catcher and 1b pursue a foul, catcher just misses it but the 1b is there to grab the ball. Jeter made a nearly identical play and it was hyped for days. Great play, yes! greatest play ever as some writers claimed? Nope. It's that hype that always bugged me.
I used the compilations for a couple reasons. One was that it was quicker and I was a bit lazy. The second was that they showed a lot of excellent plays many of them from players who aren't exactly all time greats.
But yeah, even as a Sox fan, you had to respect Jeter. He always played hard, maybe even a bit extra against the Sox. And I can't really recall him ever complaining about much of anything.