Acclaim.Net Interviews All-Star Baseball 2000 Cover Boy Derek Jeter

Acclaim Sports product manager Mike Jerchower sat with NY Yankees shortstop and All-Star Baseball 2000 cover boy Derek Jeter for an exclusive interview during the recent filming of the All-Star Baseball 2000 commercial at the Yankees complex in Tampa, Florida. In the interview, Jeter talks about some of his favorite players in the game, his inspiration growing up, and his reaction to the Roger Clemens / David Wells trade. It is an interesting interview with one of the game's great stars.

Exclusive interview with Derek Jeter, Shortstop for the New York Yankees

Acclaim: Derek, how old were you when you first started playing baseball?

Derek Jeter: As long as I can remember. Maybe five, six. Pony League, Little League...Little League, tee ball...tee ball.

A: Who was an inspiration for you growing up, on a personal level and as well as a sports idol?

DJ: Well, my dad played baseball at Fisk University so when I was younger I wanted to be like him. And than, baseball-wise, besides Zimmer of course, Dave Winfield. I was a big Winfield fan.

A: What are some of your individual goals as a player, aside from the team goals, as coming up for the season?

DJ: Well, I think personal accolades, I mean they're great and everything but, we tend to focus more on the team. Well, I've been spoiled. We won two out of three years, so anytime you go through that all you want to do is win.

A: How do you prepare yourself in the off-season? DJ: I live down here in Tampa and I work out at the minor league complex with the coaches, strength coaches and we pretty much do everything. There's almost no off-season.

A: Especially when you go into October winning.

DJ: Yeah.

A: Talk about your involvement writing the scouting reports for the All-Star Baseball video game. DJ: Well I tried to be a little biased toward our pitching staff, so I think our team might dominate this game. You know, it was fun. I got to go through and look at the different pitchers, and in my opinion put how they pitch me, so...and everyone knows how to get me out.

A: Okay, give us a little more detail. Who taught you how to play the game, was that someone that came from your family or was that just coaches in the area growing up?

DJ: My dad taught me a lot. He says even now he couldn't hit too good but he says, so he's a better defensive player so he's always out there. My mom, my dad, we all used to go out there. Mom used to throw me Wiffle balls in the back yard, so it was like a family project.

A: What players in the league do you admire for their skills?

DJ: Well, there's a lot of players..., Alex Rodriguez of course, Garciapara...and I'm just looking at shortstops...Ordonez. There's a lot of young players coming up that I think play great and they have a respect for the game, so I think that's good for the fans.

A: You've been asked this question a lot I'm sure in the last week, but what was your initial reaction to the David Wells/Roger Clemens trade?

DJ: I was sort of shocked because I hadn't been reading the papers but I hadn't heard any trade rumors before it happened and it was a last second thing. They went to the field and they told me that they traded for him, so, it was kind of a shock at first. A: Obviously you've been through this twice, but going back to the first time and even the second time, what's the overall feeling of winning a world championship?

DJ: I don't know if you could sit here and describe it. I think...every kids dream, when they dream of playing baseball is playing in a World Series and I've been spoiled two out of three years, so I don't know if I could sit here and exactly in words and describe it; but I think it's very gratifying- I think even more so last year. My first year things happened so fast and before I knew it we won, and last year was a great thrill for us.

A: Obviously the Yankees have recieved a lot of attention in the off-season. People are expecting them to win. Is it fair to say that anything less than a world championship would be acceptable for the team as a whole?

DJ: I think it's very fair. I think you play 162 games, you play thirty in the spring and you play another fifteen in the post-season. You don't get a ring if you don't win. So our goal is to win the World Series and that's the bottom line. If you don't win than the season is not a success.

A: What kind of music do you listen to and who is your favorite performer or rock band? DJ: That's funny, uh...

(Laughter)

A: Presently.

DJ: I like R&B and hip-hop. I don't really have one particular group or artist or anything, it's just the whole hip-hop, R&B...

A: Okay. What advise to have to give to aspiring Little Leaguers and ball players?

DJ: Well, I would say, you don't necessarily have to want to be an athlete. I think whatever you want to do your dream can come true if you work hard because not too many people get a chance to play professional sports but a lot of people tell them they can't. I know when I was growing up everyone said that you can't do it and they laughed at me, but I think if you work hard than anything can happen.

A: Okay. Give us your overall response to having the opportunity to appear in a television commercial for a video game for kids.

DJ: Well, it's fun. I think it's a lot of fun. Hopefully the commercial comes out well. A lot depends on how Zim acts at the end because a lot's riding on him.

A: Zim is going to get the chance to answer some questions here too...

DJ: So, I don't know how much of an actor he is, but we'll see what happens. So it's been a great...it's been a good experience for me.

A: Okay. Obviously from the commercial, All-Star Baseball has helped you prepare for the season coming up. What advise would you give to those kids who are considering adding All-Star Baseball 2000 to their list of games?

DJ: Well I think it'll be a great game. Like I said, I sat down and went through the scouting reports so hopefully I got the reports right. So I think it's going to be as close as to the real thing as you can get.

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