Derek Jeter

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Derek Jeter

Image:Jeter3.JPG

Position Shortstop
Team New York Yankees
Years of Experience 10 years
Age 31
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg)
Bats Right
Throws Right
College N/A
2006 Salary $20,600,000
Place of Birth Pequannock, New Jersey
Selection 1st round, 6th pick 1992 amateur draft
Drafted by New York Yankees
Major League Debut May 29, 1995

Derek Sanderson Jeter (born June 26, 1974 in Pequannock, New Jersey) is a six-time All-Star shortstop for the New York Yankees and is the team's current captain. He was also part of the Holy Trinity of shortstops in the 1990's and 2000's.

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Early life

Derek Jeter was born in Pequannock, New Jersey to Charles and Dorothy Jeter. The family lived in North Arlington, New Jersey until he was four, then moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. He also has a younger sister named, Sharlee who lettered in basketball, softball and volleyball. Jeter was a star baseball player at Kalamazoo Central High School, where he also played basketball, and in 1992, he was named High School Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Although he received a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Michigan, he attended just one semester after he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 1992 amateur draft. He spent four years in the minor leagues, starting in the Rookie League and then advancing to Class A where he spent two years. In these two years in the minors, Derek collected various awards such as the "Most Outstandings Major League Prospect", the "Best Defensive Shortstop, the "Most Exciting Player" and the "Best Infield Arm".

In 1995, he advanced from Class A to Class AAA within the season. It was on May 29, 1995 where Derek debuted in the Major Leagues against the Seattle Mariners.

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Professional baseball accomplishments

Jeter made his major league debut on May 29, 1995. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in his first full season, 1996, in which he had a .314 batting average. During the 8th inning of Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series, Jeter was awarded a home run on a memorable and controversial play. Jeter hit a pitch to the right field wall, and the ball was pulled into the stands by 12 year-old spectator, Jeffrey Maier, depriving Oriole outfielder Tony Tarasco the opportunity of making a play. Despite protests from the Orioles, the home run call was upheld, which allowed the Yankees to tie and eventually win the game in extra innings by the walk-off home run hit by Bernie Williams. The Yankees won the pennant for the first time since 1981 and their first World Series since 1978.

Image:Derek Jeter1.JPGJeter has maintained his success on the field. During the 1998 season, Jeter batted .324, led the American League with 127 runs, earned his first All-Star appearance, and placed 3rd in the American League MVP voting. He helped the Yankees to a then AL-record 114 wins, and they won the World Series. In 1999, they Yankees captured the AL East with a 98-64 (.605) record. They won the World Series for the 3rd time in 4 years. In 2000, the Yankees faced the Mets in a subway series. In the 9th inning of Game 5, Met slugger Mike Piazza hit a deep fly ball to center field. Bernie Williams rushed over, and the Yankees were World Champions for the 3rd straight year. Jeter went 9 for 22 (.409) with 2 home runs, and was named MVP.

more progress, as Jeter reached career highs in batting average, home runs, RBIs, and walks, and he led the AL in hits with 219. During the 2000 season, he was voted the MVP of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the World Series.

The 2004 season was a rollercoaster for Jeter statistically. Early in the year, he had a mysterious 0-for-27 slump and was inexplicably hitting .198 after the first two months of the season. He later recovered and ended the year with 23 home runs and a .292 batting average.

In 2005 Jeter reaches the 200 hit plaque for just the 4th time in his career, finishing at 202. Jeter hit .333 in the postseason, but the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Despite Jeter's level of success, criticism of his overall performance as a fielder has followed him since his entry into the major leagues. Most analysts consider Jeter an average to below average fielder (see SI.com). Despite the criticism of his defense, Jeter won the American league Gold Glove Award at Shortstop in both 2004 and 2005.

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Mr. November

Image:Derek Jeter model.jpg Throughout his career, Jeter has been known as one of the best clutch postseason players in baseball history. Since arriving in the majors in 1996, Jeter has participated in every postseason, and he was a member of 6 American League Championship teams and 4 World Series Championship teams. Jeter's personal postseason performance has been a major factor in the Yankees' success. The term "Mr. November" comes from Jeter's accomplishments in the 2001 World Series, which ran into November that year due to the delay of the baseball season caused by the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Some of Jeter's most memorable moments have come in postseason play. These include the aforementioned eighth inning, game-tying disputed home run against Baltimore in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS; his game-winning, tenth-inning home run off Arizona's Byung-Hyun Kim in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series; as well as one of the most unusual defensive plays in postseason history: With the Yankees down 0 games to 2 versus the Oakland Athletics in the 2001 American League Division Series, and holding on to a 1-0 lead in Game 3 and with an A's runner on first base, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina served up a high fly ball to deep right field to the A's Terrence Long. With Oakland's Jeremy Giambi about to round third, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and threw home. The throw sailed over the heads of both cut off man Alfonso Soriano and backup cut off man Tino Martinez. With Giambi nearing homeplate, Jeter ran across the field, and nearing the 1st base line, caught the ball off a bounce and shovel passed it across his body to catcher Jorge Posada, who promptly tagged the back of Giambi's knee, a fraction of a second before his foot hit homeplate. The Yankees later went on to win the series in 5 games.

As of 2005, Jeter has a career .306 postseason batting average with 16 home runs and 46 RBIs. He has a record 142 career postseason hits.

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Yankee captain

The Yankees named Jeter the 11th captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003. (However, Howard W. Rosenberg, the foremost historian on baseball captains and author of the 2003 book Cap Anson 1: When Captaining a Team Meant Something: Leadership in Baseball's Early Years, has found that the count of Yankee captains failed to count Hall of Famer Clark Griffith, the 1903-05 captain, and Kid Elberfeld, the 1906-09 one, with 1913 Manager Frank Chance a strong circumstantial candidate to have been captain that year as well. Therefore, Jeter may in fact be the 13th or 14th Yankees captain.)

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Turn 2 Foundation

Jeter began the Turn 2 Foundation, a charity organization, in 1996. The Foundation was established to help children and teenagers avoid drug and alcohol addiction, and to reward those who show high academic achievement. The organization's name was chosen, besides the baseball reference to a double play, to demonstrate the goal of giving youths a place to "turn to", besides drugs and alcohol.[1]

The Foundation provides many youth activities, including:

  • After School Programs
  • Baseball Clinics
  • Scholarship Programs
  • The "Proud to Be Me Program", where youths learn how to say no to drugs and alcohol
  • The "Turn 2 Kidfest", an annual clinic to reward positive, healthy lifestyles by providing activities. Jeter personally attends the event.
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Personal life

Jeter's personal life has been the subject of considerable attention in the press ever since his rookie season in 1996, when he emerged as something of a matinee idol in the limelight of New York City. Despite Jeter's best efforts at keeping his personal life private, his various high-profile relationships with pop diva Mariah Carey, actress Jordana Brewster, former Miss Universe Lara Dutta, and supermodel Adriana Lima (who claims he was her first boyfriend) have all been subject to intense media scrutiny. [2] Most recently, Jeter has been linked with MTV personality Vanessa Minnillo.

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World Baseball Classic

Derek was the starting shortstop for the USA team in the first ever World Baseball Classic. Yankee teammates joining him on the USA club included third baseman Alex Rodriguez and centerfielder Johnny Damon. Jeter hit well for Team USA, staying as clutch as Yankee fans have known him to be in pressure-filled atmospheres. Jeter hit .450 (9/20) and scored 5 runs in 6 games. Only Ken Griffey, Jr. (.524) and Cuba's Yoandy Garlobo (.480) had a higher batting average with a minimum of 20 at bats. Jeter's exploits earned him recognition as the shortstop selection on the All-Tournament team.

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Trivia

"Receives a reported $20,600,000 a year in salary.

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External links

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