Derek Jeter Biography

Derek Jeter (born on June 26, 1974) is a seven-time All-Star shortstop for the New York Yankees, and is the team's captain.

Biography

Derek Jeter has won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, the All-Star and World Series MVP Awards and two Gold Glove Awards. Jeter has the 6th highest lifetime batting average of all active ballplayers. He has been in the top 7 in the American League in both hits and runs scored for 9 of the past 10 years.

Derek Jeter was born in Pequannock, New Jersey, to Charles, an African-American, and Dorothy Jeter, an Irish-American. The family lived in North Arlington, New Jersey until Derek was four, then moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, when he was five. Jeter was a star baseball player at Kalamazoo Central High School, where he also played basketball. Jeter batted over .500 and struck out only 4 times during his entire senior year playing baseball. In 1992, Derek Jeter was named High School Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association and won the Gatorade High School Player of the Year Award.

Although Derek Jeter received a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Michigan, Jeter 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.

Derek Jeter spent four years in the minor leagues, beginning in the Rookie League before advancing to Class A. Derek spent two years there (his first year wasn't the best by the look of his stats), collecting various awards, including Most Outstanding Major League Prospect of the South Atlantic League in 1993 and Best Defensive Shortstop.

In 1994, Derek Jeter advanced from Class A to Class AAA within the season.

On May 29, 1995, Derek made his debut in the Major Leagues against the Seattle Mariners.

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

Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, and Alex Rodriguez were considered the three top shortstops in the game during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Derek Jeter is the only one of the three who is still playing shortstop.

Jeter was first called up to the Major Leagues in 1995 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 into his first major-league double-play on that day. Derek played his way to a successful rookie season, hitting for a .314 batting average, 10 home runs and 78 runs batted in and simultaneously earning Rookie of the Year honors.

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

As of 2006, Derek Jeter has a career .315 postseason batting average with 17 home runs and 46 RBIs as well as reaching base in 102 of 116 postseason games. He has a record 147 career postseason hits, and also holds records for most postseason singles (107), at-bats (467), runs scored (84) and strikeouts (90). On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Jeter was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. On August 22nd, 2006 Jeter became the all-time Yankee leader in singles.

In 2006, Derek Jeter's batting average was an impressive .343, with 14 HRs, 34 Steals, and 97 RBIs and he seems a favorite to win the MVP award. Other contenders are Justin Morneau, Jermaine Dye, and David Ortiz to name a few.

On the whole, Jeter's 2006 campaign has so far been one of his best years ever. He finished second behind Twin's catcher Joe Mauer for the batting title with his teammate Robinson Cano coming in at 3rd.

On October 3, 2006, Derek Jeter became the sixth player in Major Leagues history to collect five hits in a postseason game, going 5 for 5 in Game 1 of the 2006 ALDS.

The Yankees named Jeter the 11th captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003. He is in the 6th year of a 10-year contract and is currently making $26 million a year.

Trivia

• Jeter went 155 plate appearances with the bases loaded before he finally hit his first grand slam on Saturday June 18, 2005.
• Father Charles, a drug counselor, is African-American; mother Dorothy, an accountant, is Irish-American. Has a sister, Sharlee.
• Derek Jeter hit his first Major League home run on Opening Day of 1996 off Cleveland Indians pitcher Dennis Martinez at Jacobs Field.
• Recorded his 2,000th career hit with an infield single on May 26, 2006 off Kansas City Royals pitcher Scott Elarton, becoming the eighth Yankee to reach the milestone.
• Currently the second-longest-serving Yankee position player, behind Bernie Williams.
• In 2005, The Sporting News published an update of their 1999 book Baseball's 100 Greatest Players. Jeter was not originally selected, but was ranked at #97 in the updated edition, based on higher career statistical totals.
• Was the first hitter to get a hit in the month of November, a walk-off home run off Byung-Hyun Kim to end Game 4 of the 2001 World Series. He was given the nickname "Mr. November" as a takeoff on Reggie Jackson's nickname, "Mr. October".
• Derek Jeter was named to the World Baseball Classic all-tournament as the best shortstop.
• Receives $18.9 million a year in salary, and is the second-highest paid endorser in baseball, behind Alex Rodriguez. In 2005, Jeter made $6 million in endorsements.
• Ranked as the "most marketable player in baseball" in a 2005 Sports Business Journal survey.
• Ranked 38th (tied with Julia Roberts) in Forbes' 2005 list of "Top 100 Celebrities".
• Was the cover athlete for Take Two's MLB 2K5 and MLB 2K6 and Acclaim Entertainment's All-Star Baseball series of video games.
• Appeared on "The Abstinence", an episode of the television series Seinfeld along with teammate Bernie Williams.
• Dated R&B singer Mariah Carey from 1997-98. The two split in 1998, saying media pressure contributed to the breakup.
• Derek Dated former Miss Universe and Indian actress Lara Dutta from 2000-2001.
• Hosted Saturday Night Live in 2001 and dressed up as a woman in one skit with former Yankees David Cone, and David Wells. He played Alfonso Soriano's wife, "Candice Soriano". 
• Was the subject of a 2005 segment on the TV news magazine 60 Minutes.
• Was voted the most overrated player in MLB in a Sports Illustrated survey of 470 major leaguers in 2006. Numerous players were mentioned in the survey. Jeter received 9% of the vote. Jeter hit .343 the following season.
• Derek Jeter was voted the majors' top shortstop in a Sports Illustrated player poll in 2005.
• Derek Jeter has his own line of sneakers under the Jordan brand, a division of Nike.
• Derek has appeared in national ad campaigns for Nike, Gatorade, Fleet Bank, Discover Card, Florsheim, VISA (with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner), Skippy Peanut Butter, Ford Motors, XM Satellite Radio, and Ford Mustang (in 2006, with Spike Lee).
• Endorses a cologne named Driven made by Avon.
• Holds the record for most singles All-time by a Yankee.
• Is Bob Dylan's favorite baseball player.
• In a playoff win against the Oakland A's on October 13, 2001, Jeter made a play that was later voted #7 in Baseball Weekly's 10 Most Amazing Plays of all-time. With Jeremy Giambi at first and the Yankees leading 1-0 in the 7th inning with 2 outs, Terrence Long hit a liner down the right field line. Shane Spencer fielded and overthrew both his cutoff men. Jeter swooped in, grabbed the ball and backhanded it to catcher Jorge Posada, who reached blindly and tagged Giambi on his right calf, a half-second before touching home.