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Jarrett Valentine

Mr. Eric Ratica

Computer Apps

October 4, 2018

Derek Jeter

“There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone

to work harder than you do (Jeter).” This is a quote by baseball great Derek Jeter, also known as

“the Captain”. Baseball is a game of hard work, integrity, passion, and most of all heart. You

have to have the heart, and the ability to work hard if you want to be great at not only baseball,

but anything you do in life. Jeter played for the Yankees, one of the most storied franchises in all

of sports. The young lived life of Derek Jeter has been a good one to say the least.

“Derek Jeter, in full Derek Sanderson Jeter, was born on June 26, 1974, in Pequannock,

New Jersey (Britannica).” Jeter’s parents’ names are Dorothy and Charles. He, “grew up in a

close-knit, biracial family. His father was African American, and his mother was white

(Tackach).” His mother Dorothy is an accountant, while his father is a substance-abuse

counselor (biography.com). At the age of four, Jeter and his parents moved to Kalamazoo,

Michigan, “so his father could pursue Ph.D. in psychology from Western Michigan University

(biography.com).” He was born in Jersey, but he grew up in Michigan. Jeter started playing

baseball at the age of five (Britannica).

Derek Jeter was a two sport athlete at Kalamazoo Central High School, he played

basketball and of course, baseball (biography.com). Jeter was determined to become a Major

League Baseball player throughout his high school career. Jeter had a memorable last two years

of high school baseball as he hit over .500 his junior and senior year, striking out only one time
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his senior year (biography.com). Jeter won many national awards, these include, “being named

the American High School Coaches Association’s 1992 High School Player of the Year, the

1992 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year, and USA Today’s High School Player of the

Year (biography.com).” Jeter was selected sixth overall in the June of 1992 draft by the New

York Yankees (biography.com). Derek Jeter’s major league debut came on May 29th, 1995,

when the Yankees starting shortstop was put on the disabled list (biography.com). In Jeter’s first

full season, he batted .314, along with 10 homeruns and 78 RBI’s. Jeter “helped the Yankees win

the World Series against the Atlanta Braves (biography.com).” Jeter would go on to win the

American League Rookie of the Year award.

Jeter would eventually develop into one of baseball’s premier all around players with his

skill set at the plate and on the field. Jeter earned 14 All-Star selections throughout his career. “In

2000 Jeter was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the All Star Game, and the World Series

(Britannica).” Jeter became the first player to do this in the same season. Jeter win many awards

throughout his career, such as AL Gold Glove awards for best fielding shortstop in the American

League, and he also won the Hank Aaron Award for the best overall hitter in the American

League. He also won the Silver Slugger Award. Jeter has the most hits by a shortstop in Major

League history (Britannica). “On July 9th, 2011, Jeter registered his 3,000th Career hit, becoming

just the 28th player to reach that mark (Britannica).” Jeter ended up retiring from baseball in

September of 2014, and he finished his career with 3,464 hits, which is sixth all time in major

league history (Britannica).

Derek Jeter is still in the baseball business today, as he has part ownership of the Miami

Marlins baseball team. Derek Jeter had a great baseball career, playing all seasons with the New

York Yankees. Derek Jeter put his name into the books as one of the many greats to put on the
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pinstripes for that organization. Jeter had many young fans look up to him, and idolize him due

to not only his on the field play, but off the field as well. Jeter started a foundation called the

Turn 2 Foundation. This foundation encourages young people to be successful in life and stay

away from the bad in life such as drugs and alcohol (biography.com). All in all, Derek Jeter was

an amazing baseball player who played 19 seasons. “He has won the World Series five times and

is a central figure in the history of this sport (TheFamousPeople.com).” In the book, “The

Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter”. It talks about how Jeter has become “emblematic of

talent, teamwork, and tradition, not to mention charitable endeavors (Renaud).”

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Works Cited

https://www.biography.com/people/derek-jeter-189311. (n.d.).

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Derek-Jeter. (n.d.).

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/derek-sanderson-jeter-1220.php. (n.d.).

Renaud, G. (2011). The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter. Ian O'Connor.

Tackach, J. (2015). Derek Jeter. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia.