Not only is Derek Sanderson Jeter a first-round-draft professional baseball player for the Yankees, he is one of the few scandal-free and classy baseball players in the sport’s steroid-driven era. Derek Jeter is a professional baseball player who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. He is a five-time world series champion, and he is regarded as a central figure for the Yankees success in the late 90s and early 2000s, where he helped lead his team to four World Series titles. He guided his team to success through his hitting, base running, fielding, and leadership. Jeter is the Yankees’ all time career leader in hits, doubles, games played, stolen bases, times on base, and at bats. He has received 14 All-Star …show more content…
His work ethic led him to outwork the other athletes in basketball, even though he was not best at it. Other teammates had more talent than him, but he often was awarded of out-hustling everyone else on the basketball court, even though he was the worst on the team. He proved enough for his coaches, believing Jeter was just an average basketball player, not knowing of his exceptional talent on the baseball diamond. When spring came around, Jeter posted high batting averages for his team, batting .557 his Sophomore year and .508 as a junior. His senior year, Jeter batted .508 with twenty three RBI, four home runs, 12 stolen bases, and only one strikeout. After his senior season, Derek received many honors and awards. These honors included an All-State honorable mention, distinguishing him as one of the best high school baseball players in the state of Michigan. He also received the 1992 High School Player of the Year Award from 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. These talents drew the attention of the University of Michigan, offering him a college scholarship he would end up declining, and the interests of many scouts for many different Major League …show more content…
After the postseason was over for the Yankees, manager Joe Torre was hired to guide the team to another World Series victory. Joe Torre requested that Derek Jeter would be the starting shortstop for the 1996 season. Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner was skeptical, but General Manager Brian Cashman convinced Steinbrenner to give Jeter an opportunity. In Jeter’s rookie year, he exceeded Torre’s expectations, batting .314, with 10 home runs, 104 runs scored, and 78 Runs Batted In. Jeter was also the American League Rookie of the Year. During the postseason, Jeter batted .361, and helped lead the Yankees offensively along with Bernie Williams. The Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series to win their first championship since the 1978 World Series. The next year, Jeter performed slightly worse, however the Yankees made it to the postseason, where they lost to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series. In the 1998 season, Derek earned a $750,000 bonus, and was selected for his first All-Star Game. The 1998 Yankees won 114 games that year, widely considered to be one of the best teams of all time. In the Postseason, they made it to the World Series, where they swept the San Diego Padres in four games. In 1999, Derek’s season totals in most stats were personal bests. Jeter was