The house that Derek Jeter built - Part 1
When Derek Sanderson Jeter was born on the June 26, 1974, no one could’ve guessed the impact he would have on the world of baseball, especially the New York Yankees. There are less than a handful of baseball players throughout history that have lived like
Jeter has. He has been the face of the majestic New York Yankees Empire and has functioned at the heart of the beloved franchise. Derek has had a career that could fill up a very impressive resume for the Hall of Fame and the number of World Series Championships
that he has under his belt are truly proof of the force that Jeter is.
He has a batting average of .313 and has had an astounding 2,975 hits and 1,712 runs in his career till now. Jeter has unleashed 236 home runs and has batted in 1,150 runs with an on-base slugging percentage of .833. He has played for the Bronx Bombers for
the entire length of his career and has been the team’s captain since 2003. His presence in the very successful 1990’s line up of the Yankees was profound and many of the team’s victories during the time are attributed to his outstanding hitting prowess as
short-stop.
The number of awards and titles Jeter has been bestowed with throughout the length of his career is majestic, yet it doesn’t come to cover the dynamic package that Jeter really is. He has been selected for the All Star game a good 11 times and has been part
of a World Series winning team a rare five times. Five Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards and two Hank Aaron Awards complement his performance when he’s on the field. Other than that he was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1996, when it
all began. Jeter was named the All Star Game Most Valued Player and the World Series Most Valued Player in 2000 and he won a Babe Ruth Award the same year as well.
In 2009, he was presented the Roberto Clemente Award and was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. His team was named the Sports Illustrated Major League Baseball All Decade team that year as well. Perhaps the biggest achievement would be when
he surpassed Hall of Famer, Lou Gehrig’s all time Yankee hit leader record in 2009.
Derek Jeter’s spirit can be easily captured in one of his quotations where he said, "If you're going to play at all, you're out to win. Baseball, board games, playing Jeopardy, I hate to lose."
As a player Jeter is a hitter through and through, but he also posses patience that many other hitters rarely do. He has had a chameleon like personality where he adjusts to the way opponents throw against him and has done so throughout the length of his
career. One of the most remembered memories Jeter is when in 2004 he leapt and caught Trout Nixon’s foul ball where he went headlong in to the stands against their historical rivals, the Boston Red Sox. That moment became an instant baseball classic. The key
to his success may lie in the fact that he follows his instincts and over the years has grasped immense knowledge of opponents which he uses to his favour.
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