THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 Page 9 Derek Jeter was brought up Captain Clutch By Th e Old Sachem, Bill Stewart I don’t often write about New York Yankees players, but this exception is long overdue. Captain Clutch or Mr. November are nicknames for the Yankee that I most admire. Derek Jeter was born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, on June 26, 1974, and rose to be one of the greatest baseball players that I have seen play in my 80 something years. He debuted for the Yankees on May 29, 1995, and had his last appearance on September 28, 2014. He had a lifetime batting average of .320, had 3,465 hits and 260 home runs and batted in 1,311 runs during his career with the Yankees. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his fi rst year of eligibility in 2020, receiving 396 of 397 possible votes, the second highest in MLB history, only surmounted by Mariano Rivera. Since September 2017 he has been Chief Executive Offi cer and part owner of the Miami Marlins. Derek Sanderson Jeter is the son of substance abuse counselor Sanderson Charles Jeter and an accountant, Dorothy (nee Connors), who met while serving in the US Army in Germany. His father was a shortstop at Fisk University in Tennessee and holds a PhD. Derek’s sister, Sharlee, was a softball star in high school. The family left New Jersey when Derek was four years old and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. Jeter played Little League in Kalamazoo at the age of fi ve. Derek Jeter attended Kalamazoo Central High School, running cross-country in the fall, playing basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring. In his three seasons at Central, his batting averages were .557, .508 and .508. In his senior year he had 23 RBI, 21 walks, 4 home runs, a .637 on base percentage, an .831 slugging percentage, 12 stolen bases in 12 attempts and only a single strikeout. His honors after the senior season were All-State Honorable mention for Michigan, the Kalamazoo Area B’nai B’rith Award for Scholar Athlete, 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. Derek was awarded a baseball scholarship to the University of Michigan which he gave up for professional baseball. Jeter was the sixth pick overall in the 1992 MLB Draft by the Yankees. The Astros (with the fi rst pick) were afraid he would hold out for at least one million dollars and passed him by. He signed for $800,000 with the Yankees, and his professional career of 20 years was established. The Yankees sent the youngster to the Gulf Coast Yankees in Tampa Bay, Florida. His next stop was the Greensboro Hornets of the Class A South AtBill Stewart The Old Sachem lantic League. He had trouble with his fi elding with the Hornets, with nine errors in 48 chances. In the off season he concentrated on fi elding. Baseball America rated Jeter among the top 100 prospects for the 1993 season. Jeter was voted by the league managers as the Most Outstanding Major League Prospect in the league. After the season he was selected as Best Defensive Shortstop, Most Exciting Player and Best Infield Arm by Baseball America. He played for the Tampa Yankees for the 1994 season, in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Class AA Eastern League and the Class AAA Columbus Clippers of the International League. He was chosen by Baseball America, The Sporting News and Topps/National Association of Professional Baseball as the Minor League Player of the Year. Playing in the Arizona Fall League, he suff ered mild infl ammation in his right shoulder, and instead of being brought up by the Yankees he was sent back to triple A. During the 1994-95 baseball strike he refused to work out with replacement players in spring training. to the Yankees for the 1995 season but his lack of skills both in batting and fi elding caused him to be sent back to triple A. Jeter was brought back up for the 1996 season, where he batted .324, hit 10 home runs and had 104 runs scored and 78 runs batted in. Jeter was the unanimous choice as Rookie of the Year. In the playoff s against the Baltimore Orioles, he whacked a disputable run when a young fan reached over the wall to grab the ball, which led to the Yankees winning the game. They advanced to the World Series and defeated the Atlanta Braves. (I remember them as the Boston Braves.) Rather than print a few dozen pages of Derek Jeter’s accomplishments year by year with the Yankees, I will move ahead to his credits and awards. Jeter was a league All-Star 14 times and played for five World Champions. He was the World Series MVP in 2000. Jeter was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1996, won fi ve Golden Gloves, fi ve Silver Slugger Awards, two AL Hank Aaron Awards and the Roberto Clemente Award in 2009, and he was the team captain from 2003 to 2014. Jeter is noted for his postseason performance, where he became known as Mr. November. He had a .309 career batting average in postseason play overall and a .321 average in World Series competition. He holds MLB postseason records for games played (158), plate appearances (734), at bats (650), singles (143), doubles (32), triples (fi ve), runs scored (111) and total bases (302). He is third in home runs (20), fourth in RBI (61), fi fth on walks (66) and sixth in stolen bases (18). Jeter has houses in Marlboro Township, New Jersey; Greenwood Lake, New York; and in the Davis Islands neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. He had tax disputes with New York State about his penthouse in Trump Towers from 2001 to 2003. He was a constant topic in gossip columns and celebrity magazines throughout his career, with relationships with singer Mariah Carey, model Vida Guerra, Miss Universe Lara Dutta, singer Joy Enriquez, TV personality Vanessa Minnillo and actresses Jordana Brewster, Jessica Biel and MinOLD SACHEM | SEE PAGE 18 Monogram D4 Double siding Cedar impression half rounds Harvey Vinyl 63 Replacement Windows Custom Aluminum Trim work Windows & Doors Top quality Vinyl Siding! •Vinyl Siding •Carpentry Work •Decks •Roofing •Free Estimates •Replacement Windows •Fully Licensed •Fully Insured
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