Since 1995 Derek Jeter has been the face of the New York Yankees and near the end of the season he improved his “Yankee Value” by passing Lou Gerigh on the Yankees all-time hit list with career hit number 2,722.

Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan and would frequently visit his sister, Sharlee in New Jersey. During the summer, the two of them would visit Yankee Stadium. It was during his summer visits that Jeter would fell in love with baseball and the boys in pinstripes. Jeter got much of his toughness and competitiveness from his father. Jeter’s father played shortstop at Fisk University. At an early age, Jeter’s father instilled toughness by beating him in almost every game they played. That was his father’s way of motivating Jeter to win on his own and teaching him that wins aren’t free and you have to earn it.

Jeter credits Hall of Famer Dave Winfield as player he wanted to model his game after. At Kalamazoo Central High School Jeter played basketball and was pretty good, earning All-State honorable mention. But Jeter’s love was baseball and after hitting .557 in his sophomore year, his coaches knew Jeter was something special. Jeter was good enough to earn a scholarship at Michigan University, but he was also being scouted by his favorite team, the New York Yankees. After debating it with his family, Jeter chose to ditch college and go pro.

Jeter spent four years in the Minor Leagues earning Minor League Player of the Year Award in 1994 after hitting .344 with 50 stolen bases. Jeter made his Major League debut on May 29,1995 and the next day got his first hit off of veteran picture Tim Belcher. This was the first of many his 2,000 plus hits in his career. After being called down to the minors during the 1995 season, he returned to the Yankees as the starting shortstop in 1996 . Jeter had an impressive rookie year, batting .310, collecting 104 hits and driving in 78 runs, Jeter was the clear choice for Rookie of the Year. Jeter was a key factor in the Yankees winning their first championship since 1978.

Since 1996, Jeter has been a proud member of the Yankee family. Fans adore him and has followers all across the world. There’s not one ballpark where Jeter doesn’t have fans, he’s sort of like the Michael Jordan of baseball. Jeter is also very benevolent. In 1996 he opened up the Turn 2 Foundation in efforts to help troubled teens.

Jeter’s popularity and good looks has landed him on the covers of Sports Illustrated, GQ, Newsweek and People Magazine. Derek has also been the the subject of rumors (with his alleged rendevous with Mariah Carey). Yankee owner George Steinbrenner once questioned Jeter’s commitment to the team after finding out about Jeter’s late night partying. The situation took on life of it’s on and became the basis of a funny commercial by Visa. Jeter was also a host on Saturday Night Live, letting people see a side of him never seen before and he also made news when he dated R&B star Mariah Carey.

New York loves Derek Jeter and it will be hard for another athlete to take his place. It’s very hard playing for New York ball clubs, but not for Jeter. After you’ve won 4 World Series titles and been to the All-Star game 10 times, most Yankee fans would give up their first borne child if given a chance to meet Jeter. With his recent passing the Iron Horse, Jeter can rest easy knowing he’s the best Yankee to ever wear the pinstripes.

- John A. Roberts

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