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Derek Jeter

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Derek Jeter
New York Yankees – No. 2
Shortstop
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
debut
May 29, 1995, for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
(through June 23, 2007)
Games1,750
Batting average.318
Hits2,250
Runs1,329
Home runs188
RBI's896
Stolen bases256
Teams

Derek Sanderson Jeter (born June 26, 1974 in Pequannock Township, New Jersey) is an American Major League Baseball player. Jeter is an eight-time All-Star shortstop and currently the captain of the New York Yankees.

Jeter has spent his entire career with the New York Yankees, starting in 1995 when he was 20 years old. He has won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, the All-Star Game MVP Award, the World Series MVP Award, a Silver Slugger Award and three Gold Glove Awards. His .318 career batting average through the 2006 season ranks him with the 6th highest lifetime batting average of all active baseball players. He has been in the top seven in the American League in both hits and runs scored for nine of the past ten years. So far in the 2000s he is third in the major leagues in hits (927), sixth in runs (551), and fifteenth in batting average (.311).

Early life

Derek Jeter was born in Pequannock, New Jersey, to an African-American father, Charles Jeter, and an Irish-American mother, Dorothy. The family lived in North Arlington, New Jersey, before moving to Kalamazoo, Michigan, when he was 4. [1]

High school

In high school, Jeter was a star baseball player at Kalamazoo Central High School, where he also played basketball, earning an All-State honorable mention. After batting .557 as a sophomore, Jeter hit .508 (30-59) with 4 HR, 23 RBIs, 21 BB, and only 1 strikeout his junior year. He got on base 63.7 percent of the time.

Jeter collected many awards at season's end, including the Kalamazoo Area B'nai B'rith Award for Scholar Athlete, the 1992 High School Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the year award, and USA Today's High School Player of the Year.

Draft

Although Jeter received a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Michigan, he was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 6th overall pick of the 1992 amateur draft and chose to go pro. Jeter has said though that he will eventually go back to college and earn a degree.

Minor league career

Jeter spent 4 years in the minor leagues, beginning in the Rookie League before advancing to Class A. He spent 2 years there, collecting various awards, including Most Outstanding Major League Prospect of the South Atlantic League in 1993[2] and Best Defensive BUGG Shortstop.


In 1994 he was named the Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America, The Sporting News, USA Today Baseball Weekly, and Topps/NAPBL after hitting .344 with 5 HR, 68 RBIs and 50 stolen bases combined at Triple-A Columbus, Double-A Albany, and Class-A Tampa. He was also named the MVP of the Florida State League.

Major league career

Jeter connects for a hit against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Jeter has played a key role in the Yankees' success since 1996. Jeter is one of three current veterans (the others are Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera) who came up through the Yankees organization, and has played his entire professional career with the Yankees.

On May 29, 1995, Jeter made his debut in the Major Leagues against the Seattle Mariners in the Kingdome. He got his first major league hit the following day off of veteran pitcher Tim Belcher, and started 13 games before being sent back down to the minors.

He returned on Opening Day of the 1996 season as the starting shortstop and hit his first major-league home run on that day. He played his way to a successful rookie season, hitting for a .314 batting average, 10 home runs, and 78 runs batted in and subsequently earning Rookie of the Year honors.

In 1999 Jeter led the AL in hits (219), and was 2nd in the league in batting average (.349) and runs (134).

In 2000, Jeter became the first player ever to win the All-Star Game MVP award and the World Series MVP Award in the same year.

At the 2001 World Series, Jeter hit the MLB's first November home run.

In 2003, Jeter started the season by dislocating his left shoulder on opening day, March 31, at the SkyDome in Toronto. He ended up missing the next 36 games. However, he still led the major leagues in batting average on balls in play that year (.380).[1]

The beginning of the 2004 season saw Jeter mired in a slump; on May 25, he was hitting only .189. This included a personal career record 0-for-32 skid in April. In June, however, Jeter broke out of his slump. He hit nearly .400 for the month and set a personal best with 9 home runs. He finished the season with a .292 average and 23 home runs, the 2nd most of his career.

In 2005 he was 2nd in the AL in runs (122) and batting average on balls in play (.394),[2] and 3rd in the league in at bats (654) and hits (202).

In 2006 Jeter led the major leagues in highest groundball/flyball ratio (3.23; 313/97) and batting average on balls in play (.394),[3] and tied for the American League lead in steals of third base (12). He was 2nd in the league in batting average (.343) and runs scored (118), 3rd in hits (214), SB success % (87.2), and batting average with runners in scoring position (.381), and 5th in infield hits (26).[4] He finished 2nd in American League MVP voting to Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins (320 points to 306 points).

In 2007, through June 9th Jeter was 2nd in the AL in infield hits (16), 3rd in hits (79), 8th in hbp (6), 9th in batting averarge (.332), and 10th in obp (.407) and runs (41).

Postseason

As of 2006, Jeter has a career .314 postseason batting average with 17 home runs and 48 RBIs as well as reaching base in 105 of 119 postseason games. He has a Major League Baseball record 150 career postseason hits, and also holds records for most postseason singles (108), at-bats (478), runs scored (85) and strikeouts (92).

Clutch play

Jeter as shortstop in 2007

Jeter is often considered to be one of the most clutch players ever to play in Major League Baseball, especially during the post-season.[3][4][5]; As of April 2007, he has a .314 career regular season batting average, but a .370 career American League Division Series batting average in 46 games, and 150 overall career post-season hits, along with 85 career post-season runs scored.

However, his overall batting average in the entire postseason falls slightly below his regular season batting average. This suggests that in reality, he is not a clutch hitter.

On October 3, 2006, Jeter became the 6th player in Major League history to have 5 hits in a playoff game, leading the Yankees to an 8-4 ALDS Game 1 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Jeter hit two doubles and a homerun, and scored three runs.

The Flip

Jeter has made a series of spectacular plays both in the field and at the bat, especially in the 2001 postseason. Perhaps the most memorable took place in Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series vs. the Oakland Athletics. With Jeremy Giambi on first base, Oakland right fielder Terrence Long hit a double off of Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina into the right-field corner. As Giambi rounded third and headed for home, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and made a wild throw intended for Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. Instead, the errant throw missed cutoff man Tino Martinez and dribbled up the first base line. Jeter came out of nowhere to grab the ball and flip it to Posada. Jeremy Giambi was called out. Facing elimination, the Yankees went on to win the game 1-0, as well as the series.

Here is FOX announcer Thom Brennaman's famous call:

"That is fair, down the right field line. Giambi on his way to third, and they're gonna wave him around! The throw misses the cutoff man--shovel to the plate! Out at the plate! Derek Jeter with one of the most unbelievable plays you will ever see by a shortstop![6]

The play was later voted # 7 in Baseball Weekly's 10 Most Amazing Plays of all time.[7]

Later in that same postseason, after hitting a game-ending home run off of Byung-Hyun Kim in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, the first Major League Baseball game ever played in November, Jeter was given by many the nickname "Mr. November," a reference to Reggie Jackson's nickname, "Mr. October."

The Dive

Another highly touted play was made by Jeter during a July 1, 2004, game against the rival Boston Red Sox. In the top of the 12th inning, with the score tied at 3, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with 2 outs and right fielder Trot Nixon up at bat[5]. Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line, and it looked like a play would not be made. Jeter, however, sprinted from his shortstop position and made a backhanded over-the-shoulder catch. Still running at full speed and unable to stop himself, he dove over the 3rd base side railing, landing 3 rows into the left field seats, lacerating his chin and bruising his face in the process. This catch ended the inning and later the Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning on the strength of a ground-rule double from backup catcher John Flaherty, and complete a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox. This was awarded Play Of The Year in the This Year In Baseball awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com.

The controversy involving this play is whether the ball would have landed fair or foul. If the ball was fair and not caught, Trot Nixon would have driven in two go-ahead runs to put the Red Sox up 5-3. However, had the ball landed foul, it simply would have been a strike. Either way, the play ended the inning, and helped the Yankees win. The third base umpire, Fieldin Culbreth, called it a fair ball.

Yankee captain

The New York Yankees named Jeter the 11th recognized captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003, after 8 years without one. (Dispute over the true count was noted in a lengthy article in the New York Times on March 25, 2007, by Vincent M. Mallozzi[8].) Jeter became the first official captain of the team since Don Mattingly retired in 1995. He is in the 7th year of a 10-year contract and made $20.6 million for the 2007 season. This contract is the 2nd largest contract in baseball history.

Criticisms

Jeter's defense has been criticized throughout his career.[9][10] A baseball journalist has pointed out that he makes fewer plays than most shortstops.[11][12] According to some defense metrics, Jeter is a below-average defender. However, he has won 3 Gold Glove awards and is regarded as a strong fielder by most experts and fans.[13][14] It should also be noted that the voting for the Gold Glove award is very subjective and many times players win the award on reputation rather than performance. The perfect example is Rafael Palmeiro, who won the award in 1999 despite playing only 28 games at 1B. Palmeiro's defensive skills that year were clearly not what they were in the past.

The book The Fielding Bible by John Dewan contains an essay by Bill James that explains why he thinks Astros shortstop Adam Everett is far superior to Jeter defensively. James analyzes the available evidence (four separate methods relying on a different set of facts and based on exhaustive research), and suggests that Derek Jeter could be the worst defensive shortstop of all time. He concludes, "Giving [Jeter] every possible break on the unknowns, he is still going to emerge as a below average defensive shortstop." The conclusion of the analysis done by Baseball Info Solutions' method (based on systematic observation) was that Derek Jeter "was probably the least effective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position."[15]

He has also been often cited as one of the most overrated players in Major League Baseball, by critics and by other players, while he was voted the league's best shortstop by fellow players just one year earlier.[16][17]

Awards

Jeter in practice against the Colorado Rockies in June 19, 2007
  • 1993 South Atlantic League All-Star (SS)
  • 1994 Florida State League All-Star (SS)
  • 1994 Baseball America 1st Team Minor League All-Star (SS)
  • 1994 Minor League Player of the Year
  • 1994 NY Yankees Minor League Player of the Year
  • 1994 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year
  • 1994 Florida State League Most Valuable Player
  • 1995 International League All-Star (SS)
  • 1996 AL Rookie of the Year
  • 1998 NY Yankees Player of the Year
  • 1999 NY Yankees Player of the Year
  • 1999 Baseball America 1st-Team Major League All-Star (SS)
  • 2000 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
  • 2000 New York Yankees Player of the Year
  • 2000 World Series Most Valuable Player
  • 2004 AL Gold Glove Award (SS)
  • 2004 Baseball America 1st-Team Major League All-Star (SS)
  • 2005 AL Gold Glove Award (SS)
  • 2006 TSN Award (SS)
  • 2006 AL Gold Glove Award (SS)
  • 2006 Hank Aaron Award
  • 2006 This Year In Baseball Awards Top Hitter
  • 2006 NY Yankees Player of the Year
  • 2006 AL Silver Slugger (SS)

Personal life

Derek Jeter is from a family of four including a sister Jeter's personal life has been a favorite topic in gossip columns and celebrity magazines since his rookie year in 1996. Jeter had a well publicized relationship with pop diva Mariah Carey from 1997 to 1998. [18] Jeter has also dated former Miss Universe Lara Dutta and actress Jordana Brewster. He was rumored to have dated actresses Scarlett Johannson[19], Gabrielle Union, and Jessica Alba. Rumors also circulated that he was dating supermodel Tyra Banks after the two were spotted sitting next to each other at a New York Knicks game, but it turned out to be a coincidence; Jeter's actual "date" to that game was his father. He has also dated Brazilian Supermodel Adriana Lima; whom he did a commercial with. Jeter also had an on-and-off relationship with television personality Vanessa Minillo from late 2003 until early 2006.[20] Most recently, Jeter had been linked to actress Jessica Biel.[21][22][23].

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 (and Jeter's uniform number), to demonstrate the goal of giving youths a place to "turn to", besides drugs and alcohol.[24]

World Baseball Classic

Derek was the starting shortstop for the USA team in the first ever World Baseball Classic. Jeter hit .450 (9/20) for Team USA 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.[25] Jeter's exploits earned him recognition as the shortstop selection on the All-Tournament Team. [26]

Trivia

Career statistics

  • Career statistics and player information from Error: Template:Baseballstats must contain at least one valid parameter name.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kalamazoo Kid". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  2. ^ Nick Acocella (2001-10-13). "Jeter always in position to win". ESPN Classic. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Tom Robinson (2001-10-05). "Yanks' Jeter shows again he's the real Mr. October". The Virginian-Pilot. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Nick Acocella. "The Hunt for Mr. October". MSNBC.
  5. ^ Ronald Blum (2001-10-04). "October is Jeter's time". Associated press. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Jeter's "The Flip"". iFilm. 2006-08-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Baseball's most amazing plays". USA Today. 2002-07-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Vincent M. Mallozzi. "Author Says Yankees Are Missing Something". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-05-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Gary Huckabay (1998-04-13). "A Subjective Look at Defense". Baseball Prospectus. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Gary Huckabay (2000-08-02). "Catching the Damn Ball". Baseball Prospectus. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Rob Neyer (2001-02-07). "From the archives: Assessing Jeter's defense". ESPN.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Rob Neyer (2002-08-08). "Don't believe that Jeter's defense has improved". ESPN.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Jon Weisman (2006-02-03). "A glove affair". SI.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Brad Marchand (2006-11-02). "American Gold". About.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Dewan, John (2006). The Fielding Bible. ACTA Sports. ISBN 0-87946-297-3.
  16. ^ Jeff Merron. "The List: Most overrated athletes". ESPN.com.
  17. ^ "SI Players Poll". Sports Illustrated. 2005-05-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=mcintyre/jeter
  19. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=mcintyre/jeter
  20. ^ Jason McIntyre (2005-02-14). "Derek Jeter: All-Star ladies' man". ESPN.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Biel Dating Jeter?". San Francisco Chronicle. 2006-11-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "The Women of Derek Jeter". ESPN.com. 2006-11-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "Jessica Biel and Derek Jeter on the beach". 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Turn 2 Foundation Mission Statement".
  25. ^ "World Baseball Classic Statistics". World Baseball Classic. 2006-03-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "World Baseball Classic All-Tournament Team". Associated Press. 2006-03-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Derek Jeter, The Top 100 Celebrities". Forbes.
  28. ^ Mark Feinsand (2005-04-06). "Sports Business Daily-Most Marketable players in MLB". MLB.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Ed Bradley (2005-09-25). "Derek Jeter: The Captain". CBS News. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "Jeter cologne not for those who think Yankees stink". Associated Press. 2005-08-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ Jonathan Lethem (2005-08-21). "The Genius of Bob Dylan". Rolling Stone.
  32. ^ "Derek Jeter". ESPN.com. 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
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