“Baseball is a lot about attitude — not getting too up or down, enjoy each game, then forget it and go on. Review the game, learn from your mistakes, but don’t let it burden you. A lot of things matter more than talent: work, education, never being satisfied. These intangibles have made Derek what he is.”…Charles Jeter, 2002. I start with this quote to demonstrate the influence that Derek’s father and mother had on shaping the man we call Mr. November.
Derek Sanderson Jeter was born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, on June 26, 1974, to a mixed-race couple, Dorothy Connors Jeter, an accountant, and Sanderson Charles Jeter, a substance-abuse counselor. His father had played shortstop at Fisk University in Tennessee. When Derek was a child, his parents made him sign a contract each year that defined acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior. Charles Jeter outlined the terms of the agreement: The contract outlined study hours, and participation in school activities. The Jeter’s moved from New Jersey to Kalamazoo, Michigan, when Derek was four years old. Derek and his sister lived in Kalamazoo with their parents during the school year and spent their summers with their maternal grandparents in New Jersey. It was during these summers that Jeter became a fan of the Yankees.
Derek starred at Kalamazoo Central High School and, in his junior season, batted .557 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs. When not on the diamond, he participated in cross-country and basketball. As he began his final year of high-school play, Jeter, who had been named a “Super-25 Player†by USA Today, was attracting scouts from most major-league teams. As April turned into May, he was batting .643 and was the top prospect in the country. In the 1991 draft, the Yankees had the sixth pick. It was a no-brainer. On the recommendation of scout Dick Groch, the Yankees offered Jeter $800,000 to sign and take a road that would see him playing at Yankee Stadium during the 1995 season.
Jeter, after signing on June 28, 1992, did not get off to the best of starts in the minor leagues. He began with the Yankees’ entering the Gulf Coast League. Errors in the field and frustrations at the plate led him to question whether he had made the right decision in forgoing the scholarship offered at the University of Michigan. Jeter finally got to play on July 2, 1992. He was hitless in his first 14 at-bats. As the summer wore on, Jeter, under the tutelage of manager Gary Denbo began to find his stroke at the plate and finished with a .202 batting average. The Yankees sent Jeter to Greensboro, where he would play eleven games and meet fellow teammates, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. In 1993 he would play the full year with Greensboro; he would also meet another teammate Mariano Rivera. That year Derek would bat .295, and a team-best 11 triples punctuated his 30 extra-base hits. Jeter’s fielding was not on par with this hitting; he had 56 errors. 1994 was a whirlwind. He would start at Tampa and go on to AA Albany, and then to triple-A Columbus. For the year, he would bat .344 with 43 extra-base hits and 50 stolen bases. By the time the dust had settled, Jeter was named minor-league player of the year. In 1995 injuries to the shortstop and second baseman would cause the Yankee to call up Jeter to the Stadium. He played in his first game on May 29, 1995, and went 0-4. After the injured players returned, Jeter would be sent back to Columbus. With the Clippers, he posted a .317 batting average with 38 extra-base hits in 123 games. He rejoined the Yankees for the stretch run but played in only two games, getting a double in his only at-bat. He was not named to the postseason roster.
The 1996 season upon the urging of “Stick” Michael Yankee owner George Steinbrenner would start Jeter at short where he would play for the next seventeen years on his way to Cooperstown.  He would be the first rookie to do so since Tom Tresh debuted in 1962. At the beginning of the year, the Yankees would have a new manager in Joe Torre, Torre would take the number 6, and with only one other single-digit number left, Derek would select the number 2. During June, Derek Jeter would play his first game at Tiger’s Stadium. It would be the first time his parents would get to see him play in the majors. It certainly wouldn’t be the last, as his parents were often in the stands at Yankee Stadium during many of the critical moments in his illustrious career.  It would be an excellent year for Derek as in 1996; he would be the American League Rookie of the year. The Yankees would win the World Series that year for the first time in eighteen years. They did it with the help of Jeter as he drove in the winning run in the sixth and deciding game of the series against the Atlanta Braves. It would be one of the first times that Jeter would tend to always be clutch at crucial times for the Yankees as well as signature moments in his career. At the beginning of the year, the Yankees would have a new manager in Joe Torre.
In 1997 Jeter would become the regular leadoff hitter for the Yankees. He would hit .291 on the year and would hit two home runs in the ALCS, but the Yankees would lose to the Cleveland Indians. 1998 would see the Yankees return to the World Series in a year that the team would win a record 114 games. Although Jeter batted .324 during the season, he would not play well in the ALDS or the ALCS. Luckily for the Yankees, they didn’t need him as they advanced to the Fall Classic. Jeter would not disappoint in the World Series against the San Diego Padres. He would bat .353 as the Yankees swept the Padres in four games to win the series. Before the 99 season, Jeter would be first eligible for salary arbitrations and would receive a $5MM contract, his first big money in baseball. In the year, Derek would have a career-high 24 home runs.  The Yankees again would reach the postseason. Jeter in the ALDS would bat .455, in the ALCS .350 and .353 in the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. The Yankees would win the World Series, Jeter’s third in his young career.
With Jeter becoming the Yankees star player after the 99 season the Yankees wanted to lock him up with a 118MM dollar seven-year deal, but that fell through, and he agreed to a $10MM one year contract. In 2000 Jeter would be the first Yankee ever to win the All-Star MVP Award. During the season, he would bat a team-best .339. The 2000 season would see the Yankees and the Mets in the famous Subway World Series between the two New York teams. Jeter would hit .409 in the series and hit his first home run on the first pitch he saw in game 4. In game 5, he would get his 14th consecutive hit in 14 World Series games. The hit was a longball that led the Yankees to their third World Series in four years. Jeter’s greatness would lead him to be the only player to win the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in the same season. After his excellent performance, the Yankees were not going to lose it’s greatest player. They offered Jeter a contract extension for $189MM for ten years, making Jeter the second-highest-paid athlete in any sport at the time.
2001 would see one of Jeter’s signature moments. In a game against the Athletics during the 2001 ALDS, Jeter would make one of the most iconic defensive assists ever in baseball. On a ball caught by Shane Spencer in the outfield, Spencer would make an errant throw that would miss the cutoff man. Jason Giambi was racing past third on his way home. Jeter would race across the field to the first baseline, grab the rolling ball, and underhand it to catcher Jorge Posada and Posada would tag out Giambi as he reached home plate. It would later be called the famous “Jeter Flip” and be one of the ten best defensive plays in the game. 2001 was also the year of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. The postseason would be delayed and would go beyond a reasonable timeframe. The Yankees would face the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series. By the time game four came about, it would be the first game played during November. After an injury, Jeter would not perform well in the series, and the Yankees would lose to the D-Backs in seven games. When Jeter hit a home run in that game 4 to win the game, the words “Mister November” would flash across the scoreboard.
Another iconic moment in Jeter’s career happened during a July game against the Red Sox at the Stadium. It was the top of the twelveth inning, and Trot Nixon would hit a pop fly down the third baseline. Jeter would jet from his position at short and run full force and make the overhand catch while diving over the rail and into the stands. With the fans in shock as well as ough, he suffered a facial laceration as Alex Rodriguez immediately called for medical assistance.  After police, fans, and players pulled him out of the stands he was, he was stunned and helped off the field bleeding by medical staff. No one looked more concerned than his parents, who were in the stands. The Yankees eventually won the game in the thirteen innings.
In 2006 Jeter would get his 2,000th hit. 2006 would also see him win the Hank Aaron Award for superior offensive performance. He earned his third consecutive Gold Gold for his defense at short. After the 2007 season, the Yankees could not agree on a contract with Joe Torre, and Joe Girardi would take over as the new Yankee skipper. On July 8, 2008, he would get his 200th home run. On September 14th Jeter would tie Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium with a hit off Tampa Bay’s David Price. The Yankees would not reach the World Series in 2008, and after the last game in the old Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter would step up to a mic and make a Lou Gehrig type speech thanking the Yankee fans for their support of the team. Yankee fans would call it the moment of the year.
2009 would see the Yankees in a sparkling new Yankee Stadium that tried to create the feeling of the old Stadium but with greatly enhanced amenities. It would be Joe Girardi’s second year as manager, and the Yankees would again be in the World Series after not winning the Championship in the past nine years. Jeter would start in the 2009 All-Star game at short. He would be named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated after he batted .407 (including 3-for-5 with a double in Game Six) in the World Series, as the Yankees defeated Philadelphia in six games for their 27th championship.
In 2010 Derek would become the all-time Yankee hit leader when he passed Lou Gehrig’s 2,722 hit record. On July 9, 2011, he would be two runs short of his chase to 3,000 hits. He would be playing against the Tampa Bay Rays. He would get his second hit of the game to reach the magical 3,000 mark and tie the game up. He would end up with the win, and 3,003 hits going 5 for 5 with adoring fans and his parents cheering him on. In 2012 he would bat a team-leading .316 and would lead the American League with 216 hits.  In 2012 Jeter would reach his 17th postseason with the Yankees. In the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers and during the 12th inning at the Stadium, Jhonny Peralta would hit a grounder to the left side, and Jeter would dive for it and remain motionless. It turned out that he had broken his ankle, which would be a season-ending injury. In 2013 still rehabbing from the broken ankle, he would only see action in seventeen games. After the season was over, he would announce that he would retire from baseball after the 2014 season.
The 2014 season would be a goodbye season for Jeter. At most all away parks, he would be honored in one way or the other. He filled stadiums all over the country as fans of all teams wanted to get one last look at one the best baseball players ever to play the game. Jeter had had so many iconic moments in this career, and he wasn’t done quite yet. On September 25, 2014, Jeter would play his last game at Yankee Stadium against the Orioles. The game would be tied in the ninth at 5-5 with a runner on second. Jeter would step toward the plate, and the voice of God, Bob Shepard in a prerecorded announcement, would state, “Now Batting for the Yankees, Number Two: Derek Jeter, Number Two.â€Â The Yankee faithful, including his parents in the stands, would rise to their feet to see the last ever at-bat at Yankee Stadium of their beloved Derek Jeter. As if it had been choreographed, Jeter would hit a walk-off single to win the game. The Yankees players would rush to first base to congratulate their long-time Captian. It was a fitting end for Yankee fans. Curiously he got the hit off of Oriole pitcher Evan
In Derek Jeter’s 20-year career, all spent with the Yankees he would end his career hitting .310 with 3,465 hits while hitting 260 home runs and driving in 1,311 runs. He would be an All-Star in 14 of those seasons, an MVP candidate 12 times, a Silver Slugger five times, and a Gold Glove Award winner during five of his seasons. He would also win the Babe Ruth Award, the Roberto Clemente Award, the Hank Aaron Award, the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, and, in 2014, the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award. All of these awards on his way to being a sure bet to make the Hall of Fame. On January 21, 2020, in his first year of eligibility, Derek Jeter would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, one vote short of unanimously.
After Jeter retired, he would become a part-owner of the Florida Marlin baseball club in Miami. During his entire baseball career, Jeter would be known as the face of the Yankees. He would handle himself on and off the field with grace and confidence. He would freely speak to the media with a calmness no matter the situation. He was such an icon to young ballplayers that they would request his number 2. Famously, future Yankee Troy Tulowitzki when a young Colorado Rockie would select number 2 as Jeter was his favorite player, and he wanted to emulate him both on the field and off.  Yankee fans will always remember him as their Captian. Thank you, Derek Jeter, for playing the game the way it should be played and providing us with 20 years of great plays and memories. Derek Jeter would be the last of the “core four” of Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and Jorge Posada to leave the game of baseball.
EmpireSportsMedia.com columnist William Parlee is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.