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Derek Jeter’s Dream Come True

Ebony Magazine, July 1999

by Walter Leavy

New York Yankees All-Star and the game’s most eligible bachelor "couldn’t as for anything better"

Derek Jeter, the All-Star shortstop for the world-champion New York Yankees, has adjusted to playing to the New York spotlight and some onlookers already are saying he is on a fast track to the Hall of Fame. He might have inherited his athletic ability from his father. Charles, who played shortstop while he was a student at Fist University in Nashville.

At the tender age of 5, Derek Jeter had the answer to the question that takes some people a lifetime to find-he knew what he wanted to become in life. And by the time he reached his 22nd birthday, the coveted dream had become a reality.

Jeter’s dream didn’t just simply come true, it turned out to be an enviable and familiar scenario that perhaps every Little Leaguer has envisioned. Not only did the modest bachelor become the shortstop for the New York Yankees, the most-storied franchise in sports, he also was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1996, was an MVP candidate and , that same year, he helped the Yankees win their first World Series in 15 years. "My whole experience in New York has been overwhelming, particularly the way the fans have taken me in," says Jeter, who picked up a second championship ring after the Yankees beat the San Diego Padres in last year’s World Series. "When you play in New York, you realize that the fans are intelligent; they know the game; and if you play the game hard and show respect for the game, they’ll show respect for you."

Whether in New York or other cities on the Major League circuit, fans are showing more than respect because Jeter-a 6-foot-3, 185-pound All-Star with pale-green eyes-is the game’s most sought-after heartthrob. And the girlish screams and marriage proposals that greet him come from females who are 7 to 70 (and beyond). While he appreciates the attention, Derek, a modest and soft spoken guy who doesn’t like to talk about himself, is somewhat embarrassed by his sex-symbol status. He even attributes his attraction to the fact that he is one of the few players on the team who is not married. "It [attention he gets] has been overwhelming," he says. "It’s something I never expected, but I’m having a great time with it." One part of his "great time" included a recent, brief but high-profile relationship with singer Mariah Carey, whom he still considers a friend and who he lists, along with Toni Braxton, among his favorite music performers. But with all of the propositions he receives and being a celebrity in the media capital of the world, his personal life, he says, is far from what people might consider it to be. "To be truthful, I’m a pretty boring person; I eat all the time and I’m a big movie person, so big that being a movie critic could be my second job," he says. "I just started playing golf, and I’m terrible at it. I’m about as bad as they come at that game. I can hit a dipping, curving baseball at 90-plus miles per hour, but the golf ball is just sitting there and sometimes I swing and miss it."

But what about a special woman in his life now? "I’m trying to find someone," he says, "a good girl with good qualities-someone who is independent, confident and someone who has a good heart."

Jeter might not have what he considers to be the perfect personal life, but his baseball life is to be admired and envied. It began while he was a Little Leaguer in Kalamazoo, Mich., continued at Kalamazoo Central High School and reached a high point when the Yankees made him the sixth overall pick in the 1992 amateur draft. Along the way, he was guided and encouraged by his father, Charles, who is Black and a drug and alcohol-abuse counselor, and his mother, Dorothy who is White and an accountant. Both preached hard work and dedication as the main ingredients to achievements. Jeter listened and vowed to never allow anyone to outwork him, even though other players might have been more talented.

That approach paid off handsomely in the spring of 1996 when Jeter became the first rookie shortstop in 34 years to start regularly for the Yankees. During that first year, his talent was obvious-a .314 batting average, 78 RBIs, solid defense-but what insiders marveled at was the then 22-year-old’s poise under pressure and the ability to perform in the spotlight, especially during the American League playoffs and the World Series.

Now, three years later, Jeter, at the young age of 25, not only is considered by many to be the Yankees’ "unofficial" leader, but he also appears to be plotting a straight path to the Hall of Fame. "I’ve dreamed about this, but this whole thing [success] is kind of hard to put into words," Jeter says. "I’m living a dream, so it’s like I’m still asleep. If that’s the case, I don’t want anyone to wake me up."

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