The statistics speak for themselves – 3,465 hits and five World Series championships at the top of the list – and it’s easy to see why they got Derek Jeter to the Hall of Fame.
But the impression Jeter left on the people he played with and against during his 20-year career are just as important in his story, his journey.
As Jeter gets ready for induction today into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, here are some of my favorite stories that I collected in 2014, Jeter’s final season. They paint the picture of a player respected and admired for so much more than the back of the baseball card.
Paul O’Neill: “He always amazed me that when his popularity grew, how he could do so many things throughout the day – whether there was a shoot for a magazine, this or that – but, boy, when it was time to play the game he was focused on the game. He’s always been a winner, and in big situations, in big playoff games, he always found a way to help the team win.”
Tim McCarver, former Yankees and Fox TV broadcaster: “The one thing that I’ve learned to appreciate about him over the years is if you’re one of those naysayers that says he can’t do something, he’ll turn it around on you in a heartbeat. And that to me is a sign of a great personality and player. (His jump throw) I thought he should have planted (and threw), and I said in my mind Derek is never gonna get a guy at first base. And he proved me wrong about five times in one season, where he jumped and I said ‘he did it, I can’t believe he did it.’”
David Robertson: “2009 in Miami. I’m pitching, it’s about 110 degrees outside, I’m scuffling, but I ended up getting through the inning in part because Jeter does his patented backhand in the hole jump throw, and as he’s throwing it across the field I’m thinking, ‘Holy Cow, I am watching this happen on the field! This is Derek Jeter doing the patented jump throw while I’m pitching and saving my butt.’ It was like slow motion happening, it was really incredible.”
Aaron Boone: “He’s as confident a player as I ever played with, in a good way, in the best kind of way. When I came over I knew he was a good player, but almost immediately I realized this guy is an unbelievable player. Whether you always get the hit or not, unequivocally I’d say, ‘I want it hit to him and I want him up,’ because I just knew he’d be as big as any moment.”
Ron Gardenhire, former Twins manager: “All I know is Derek Jeter has been the main cog in sending my butt home a lot of times in the playoffs. Early exits. Let’s just call him Early Exit Man, because he did that to us quite a bit. He’s led that team forever, one of the most professional baseball players I’ve ever seen…always fun to watch, except when he’s killing us.”
Terry Francona, former Red Sox manager/current Indians manager: “I’ve seen Derek for so long, and he wants to rip your heart out on the field, but if you’re a fan of baseball it’s hard not to be a fan of his. He’s so much about what’s good about our game. When you’re playing against him you want him to have as little to do as possible with the outcome of the game. He’s not going to be out of position, he’s going to make the extra play as we’ve all seen him do, especially as the game gets tighter, and he’s always in the right place, so you want him to have the least amount of say-so in the game as possible. (The 2004 Dive vs. Boston was probably him in a nutshell. He has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and that’s not luck.”
Gene Monahan, former Yankees athletic trainer: “I remember when he made that tremendous play and went into the stands, he busted his face up real good – bloodied his eye and his nose and all that stuff – but through everything he was always very calm and very quiet. I don’t think we were even in the runway yet when he said, ‘I’m in there (the lineup) tomorrow.’ That’s the kind of guy he is.”
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Hideki Matsui: “My first couple years we were living in the same building, so we used to see each other going to the stadium or coming back from the ballpark, and I had an opportunity to visit him in his place. I was able to see a different side of Derek I don’t get to see at the ballpark. He has that aura of a superstar, but he was able to just get rid of that. When he was in his place, relaxed, he just didn’t have that. You were able to meet Derek Jeter the human being. And I think that’s something that’s impressive that he could manage that, sort of turn it on and turn it off.”
David Wright: “I was very lucky as a young player in New York. What better person to try to not just mold your game after, but try to take some notes from on a leadership and clubhouse perspective? I was very fortunate from that aspect where I got a front row seat for how you’re supposed to act in the big leagues, how you’re supposed to carry yourself and go about your business. (The celebrity) aspect of it has never come before the baseball side of it. It’s always been baseball first. It seems he’s never set out to be that celebrity, he’s always set out to be a great baseball player and the celebrity has just come along. And that’s one of the things I respect most about him.”
Mark Teixeira: “I have a friend, Lee Thompson, who is in the furniture business and travels a lot. When we were in Chicago a couple years back, he met me at the hotel and we went out to dinner. Derek was going out to dinner with Michael Jordan. I said, ‘Jete, you know what makes us different? When I go to Chicago I go out to eat with a furniture salesman. When you go to Chicago you go out to eat with Michael Jordan.’ He likes to stay out of the limelight but every now and then we have to remind him that he’s not like the rest of us.”
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Phil Hughes: “I remember after Game 1 of the World Series in 2009, we lost to Philadelphia, and he came out after the game and said, ‘So what? So what, guys?’ And I think everybody was not distraught, but concerned and down, all those feelings you’d have after losing Game 1 of the World Series, and he was like, ‘So what guys? We’ll get ‘em tomorrow.’ And I think hearing it from him because he had had so many before that was kind of reassuring. It speaks to everything he’s done. You know you’ve had a pretty good career when you lose Game 1 of the World Series and you’re like, ‘So what? Who cares? They’re seven-game series for a reason.’”
Don Mattingly: “Every at-bat was the same. In the postseason or regular season, second inning or ninth inning with the game on the line – all the same. He never got away from who he was or what he did, and you never saw a change in the type of at-bat he took. He was always trying to do the same things. He was staying exactly with his approach and what he was trying to do. And that, as I look back, is probably the most amazing thing about Derek.”
Paul Konerko, former White Sox Captain: “I guess I can relate a little bit to the fact that I’ve played 16 years with one team in a relatively big city, so I know everything that comes along with that. And I can’t imagine what he has to deal with being a Yankee for even more years, in this city and everything that comes along with that, and the fact that he handles himself with nothing but class. I’ve never heard a player say a bad thing about Derek Jeter. You combine all that, I think he’s the best…if there’s a category for just “Best Big Leaguer of All-Time,” it’s him. There have been other guys, and other guys in New York, but they weren’t in the time that he did it. Now if someone comes along and has the career that Derek Jeter has and plays shortstop for the Yankees for 20 years I’ll give it to them. But for me, I think he’s played the toughest position in the toughest city in the most current generation, and you put it all together I don’t think anybody’s done it any better than he has.”
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