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Yankees Magazine Volume 21, Issue 1, April, 2000

By: Mark Mandrake

In his 4 years in the majors, Derek Jeter has had a lot of things go well for him: 3 World Championships, a .318 career BA, deci-millions of dollars per year in salary andendorsements, a loyal and respected family, not to mention the daily undivided attention of more beautiful women than an average Joe could hope to attract in a lifetime. Oh...an he’s really buff, too.

We’re talking strong. Arguably one of the strongest players on the Yankees. Jeter, always the model of humility, won’t let on to this effect. “I’m not that much bigger,” he protested in late March. But, yes, he is that much bigger.

Even the arithmetically challenged among us can figure other major-league clubs were doing this winter: 1999 DJ + great strength = Just Ain’t Fair 2000.

In ‘98 the Yanks ran roughshod over their competition and won 125 games en route to baseball’s championship with Jeter and his team record (for a shortstop) of 19 homersand .324 average as a conduit. Then, in 1999, New York followed with an almost equally blistering 109-65 pace for an encore- Jeter besting his homer mark by 5 in theprocess-including a near-seamless 11-1 postseason where Jeter batted at a .375 clip.

“Derek is the unstated leader of this team,” said pitcher David Cone of the pinstripe prodigy in the Legends Field clubhouse this spring. “He might not be a captain now, but he acts like one. He has authority by what he does on the field and how he carries himself.”

Now Jeter has all the tools he’s demonstrated in 4 years of one of the most promising starts by a shortstop in major-league history, plus he has all this new muscle to toss around.

When the 17-year old Jeter was made the Yankees 1st round draft pick in 1992 (6th overall), out of Kalamazoo (Mich.) Central High, he had an honest 170 lbs. on this 6’3”frame.

Derek made his initial visit to the executive offices in Yankee Stadium that summer,politely greeting team officials who had helped put him in pinstripes. The bony Jeter looked at the time as though the firm New York handshake might rip his arm out of the socket.

The Yankees brass assuaged worries about how underdeveloped Jeter was by reminding themselves that [a.] he was fresh out of high school and still had many years tobulk up, and [b.] a similarly mega-skinny 17-year old signee from Puerto Rico in 1986 had wound up doing ok for the team just a few years prior (hint: he plays guitar and was on the cover of last month’s Yankees Magazine).

In the past 7 years, under the guidance of assorted minor-league coaches, fitness instructors, personal trainers and Jeter’s own volition, the devoted DJ piled on 25 or so lbs. of muscle. Our 1999 Yankees media guide posted Jeter at 195, which he may actually have weighed by play-off time. But the once scrawny Kalamazoo kid, who will turn 26 in June, rolled into Tampa this March at about 215- with no fat to speak of.

“Derek was very active in the offseason. The results are there for anyone to see,” said Yankees strength and conditioning coach Jeff Mangold. “He worked hard. He showed up in good shape.” As a remotely negative consequence of Jeter’s new physique, there is the possibility that the New Derek might not jibe with manager Joe Torre’s stated emphasis on speeding it up on the basepaths for 2000. Incoming 1st-base coach Lee Mazzilli, who was hired this year for precisely that purpose isn’t worried.

“I believe that Derek, as well as most of the other players, have shown great willingness to adapt,” said Mazzilli. “I don’t think his off-season conditioning will work against that.” Jeter, for one, seems surprised there could be any way that his dedicated workouts could affect him adversely this summer. “I really didn’t bulk up as much as I’m hearing about,” he said. “Yeah, I got stronger, but it’s not something I think is going to affect my speed at all.”

Probably accurate, seeing as all-time steals king Ricky Henderson spent much of his career looking like an anatomy chart from extensive weight lifting. Henderson’s 1,000+ stolen bases surely haven’t suffered as a result. But the mere appearance of Jeter’s huge arms and thighs begs the question: Were his consecutive years setting records for home runs by a Yankee SS not enough? Is Jeter actively gunning for the fences in 2000? Heck, Tino Martinez led the Bombers w/ a paltry 28 dingers, in an era where 70 is attainable and where softies like Brady Anderson of the Baltimore Orioles can clout 50.

“I don’t worry about my number of home runs,” Jeter said. “I try to hit the ball hard or with more authority at a given time, but I don’t sit focusing on my numbers-home runs or otherwise. The minute you do that, you start forgetting what’s important. The object is to win ballgames.” So what’s all the heavy weight training about then? Has Jeter done anything radically different at the gym this off-season than he has in his other 3 major-league offseasons? “Well, different in the sense of my weightlifting program, yeah,” he said. “I’ve been focusing on strength improvement in my legs specifically. I’ve also done some other minor things, but nothing all that drastic.”

The most drastic thing about Jeter’s offseason indeed were not his squats and deadlifts. With Jeter’s contract status w/ the Yanks almost bringing him to the arbitration table in Feb., rumors of DJ actually being something other than a happy Yankee surfaced for the 1st time. The New York tabloids blared offers and counteroffers b/w Yankee management and Jeter’s agent that floated in the $115 million stratosphere. “The thing that’s baffling to me is everyone wants to talk about this ‘deal’ offered me,” Jeter said. “Everytime I say it, I’m reminded that I never really was offered a long term deal by the Yankees.”

Yankees GM Brian Cashman conceded such, just after Jeter agreed to a temporary 1 year deal for $10 million in the week before the Feb, arbitration deadline: “Yes, I wouldn’t refute that. We had discussions. Discussions then lead to a firm offer. At this stage, though, we weren’t going to get anything done in the few days before the deadline. So we came to mutual agreement for a one year basis.”

“I’m hopeful at some point in 2000, we’ll have a multi-year deal,” said Cashman. “But that’s obviously for discussions that continue, and they will. We’ll get something done.” Jeter, who reveals in this naiveté about baseball contracts, said: “To be honest w/ you, contracts are not something I spend a lot of time thinking about. For arbitrations, I have no control over it. I can’t really do anything about that. I don’t even think about it. I told my agent, if the Yankees come up w/ an offer, to let me know, but I don’t know much about what’s going on,” he said. “I don’t know what the Yankees’ plans are. I’ve said it before: I’d like to sign a long-term deal w/ the Yankees, but that’s not up to me.”

The specter of a dissatisfied Jeter playing out the duration of the 2000 season w/ half-effort, just to milk a long-term deal he probably deserved in the 1st place, would not be farfetched-if it wasn’t Jeter we’re talking about. “I’ll be honest, knowing the players as I do,” said Cashman. “He’s strong enough to not let this stuff affect him. Derek has been very professional since he’s been a Yankee. That’s whether you’re talking about his negotiations, his on-field play of off-field persona. To reiterate what Joe Torre has said about it, ‘If Jeter doesn’t get a long-term deal, does he become a problem to deal w/?’,”said Cashman. “No, I don’t anticipate that - Derek is Derek. He wouldn’t change either way. I don’t see a problem coming of that nature.”

No matter whether Jeter takes the field for the Yankees each of the next few OpeningDays w/ a tenth of a billion in the bank or a lot less than that, there’s no disputing that the American League, in the turn of the 21st century, has offered baseball a crop of shortstops for the ages. Alex Rodriguez of the Mariners, Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox, and Omar Vizquel of the Indians are just a few of Jeter’s adversaries who’ll be making the biggest plays for their respective teams in 2000. But try as we journalists will to convince Jeter of rivalries w/ these foes, DJ will have none of it. Where Bomber shortstops in the past might’ve traded barbs in the papers, or spikes on the basepaths, w/ their opponents, Jeter sees only friendly comparisons w/ the trio of talents above.

“Well, I do go out and try to beat them,” laughed Jeter. “But other than that, I don’t have anything personal against them.” Maybe that’s because Jeter keeps winning the championships. But for their part, Garciaparra, Vizquel and A-rod seem equally effacing when it comes to their pinstriped antagonist. “It’s good when Derek and I play against each other,” said Nomar. “It brings out the best in both of us. We thrive on the competition.” Rodriguez and Jeter are actually close friends outside the ball park. “Just b/c we play the same position and have similar numbers, and we’re all in the AL, doesn’t mean we hate each other, said A-Rod. “That’s not how it is. I have a lot of respect for Derek. Nomar, too. If the rivalry concept helps sell tickets, fine. But all of us just go out there to play, and we’re not enemies.”

Yeesh...bring out the finger cakes and tea. Can you imagine Mark Koenig of the Murder’s Row 1927 Yanks saying this about any of his AL nemeses? Well, whatever works for Jeter, even if the mutual backslapping by the opposing SS probably rankles old-school baseball types. Jeter’s “boy-next-door” appeal sure hasn’t hurt his bank account. As the original baseball player signed by NBA star Michael Jordan to His Airness’s Nike spin-off company, Jeter wields tremendous corporate clout for an athlete so young. Somehow, w/ all the praise heaped upon Jeter- and the attention gets progressively more massive w/ each championship and each on-field achievement- he retains a youthful charm that wows interviewers as fast as it does his army of teenage female fans.

Jeter won the Joe DiMaggio “Toast of the Town” Award in 1999, a prestigious honor given by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He had been given the New York Press Photographers’ “Good Guy” Award just the previous season. A more regular-life instance representative of Jeter’s allure, though, might have been an episode last November, in the loading tents near New York’s City Hall where the Yankees boarded victory floats for a ride down the “Canyon of Heroes” in a tickertape parade. Although the Yankees have had practice w/ 2 prior confetti-filled rituals down Manhattan’s lower Broadway since 1996, these police-protected tents remain a bastion of disorganization. Players and their wives scrunch into tight quarters w/ buffet tables, executives, Yankee staffers, city officials, and endless spindles of electrical cables- all in a space large enough to house a boy scout troop.

So there stands Jeter, arms akimbo in a satin Yankee jacket, waiting his turn to be funneled into a waiting float on the neighboring road. His proud parents stand behind him, and teammates Ramiro Mendoza, Mariano Rivera and their wives sit in chairs next to the Jeters’ legs. George Steinbrenner ambles by, w/ dignitaries in tow. Caterers and city workers try to pose for photos w/ Rivera, and someone spills a cup of juice clear across a row of seats; in a chain-reaction. the threat of spilled juice sends a groundskeeper bumping into a bagel tray, knocking a huge pile of bagels onto Chuck Knoblauch’s feet. Knobby either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, and lets the bagel baskets domino back into Jeter’s path. In this chaotic 90 square-ft. nook of the tent, a group of young hostesses and other Yankees’ families besieges Jeter, asking for autographs and pictures. He’s cornered.

And such would be the point at which most celebrities would start getting a little anxious. Especially w/ their families present. In fact, some of the Yankees already had started to scatter by then to floats that were not ready to be loaded. But Jeter, as his mother continued managing his food plate, just smiled and politely posed for picture after picture and signed autograph after autograph. Derek and his dad bantered w/ the masses, like it was a discussion group at a coffeehouse. “Oh really?...I knew someone w/ that kind of dog.”

Not until DJ was pried away by the team officials who feared he’d miss his float, did Jeter finally emerge from the claustrophobic canopy. And he had to be tugged away, smiling, w/ people hanging from his sides. Quintessential Derek. The guy would do the same thing next week, too. Jeter’s more organized community relations revolve around a foundation he minted just after the Bombers’ 1st title of the Torre era, called “Turn 2”, to help prevent teenage substance abuse. Part of the proceeds from his ever-popular Jeter’s Frosted Flaked Cereal go to benefit 3 non-profit offshoots of Turn 2 that create activities for high-risk youths.

And in his free time, Derek likes to...be auctioned off for charity on the Internet. Say what?? True enough, in a March promotion, a meal w/ Jeter was auctioned to the highest bidder. A DJ for ebay, if you will. The results of  the competition weren’t in by our press date, but it’s safe to assume New York City’s most eligible bachelor perpetuated in web hits his trend of posting good numbers.

No discussion of Jeter’s numbers is complete w/o the question of how long can he keep it up?? As w/ peers Nomar and A-Rod, Jeter is blazing new paths of greatness for shortstops. As though Jeter needs false motivations to keep him at the top of his game, he’s got a living one breathing down his neck in Columbus. Alfonso Soriano, who is widely considered the top Yankees farm prospect, could be playing SS in the majors for an assortment of top teams. His path to stardom in the Bronx, however, is firmly blocked by a certain Derek.

“Soriano has a ton of potential, and you hear great things about him,” said  Jeter. “The team’s trying to find a way to make that situation work.”  Jeter’s foothold on short is so deeply entrenched, it’s Bomber heresy to even suggest different positions or trading him. Jeter ain’t going nowhere. Soriano must be getting frustrated at his lack of exposure, but, to wit, Alfonso’s using a smart philosophy of deferring to his predecessor. “I have faith that the Yankees will do right w/ Soriano, but it’s not something he has much control about,” said Jeter.

Soriano’s biggest weakness right now is his disproportionately high number of errors per fielding opportunity. But who’d be a better mentor for Sori than the guy who overcame a monster 56 errors in class A Greensboro in 1993 to become the AL’s 4th best fielder at his position in 1999?? While Jeter poses no threat to Vizquel’s streak of 7 straight gold gloves at short, DJ’s .978 fielding % last season, came w/i 2 dropped balls of breaking Fred Stanley’s 1976 Yankee record for the position. Raising the possibility of Gold Gloves draws the same Jeter reaction as doe the topic of batting titles or leading the team in home runs, b/c it takes away from the team first ethos that the SS has had instilled by Joe Torre.

“The only way that personal accomplishments like that are impt. to me, is in the way that if each individual does their job, then the team as a whole will win. You know, personal accolades on their own are worthless and mean nothing if the team loses.” A safe policy is to ask Jeter if he thinks the Yankees can become the 1st ML squad to 3-peat since Charlie Finley’s A’s of the early ‘70’s. “Oh yeah. I’ve only known about winning since I got to the big leagues. We won in ‘96, ‘98, and ‘99, and it’s like every year’s a championship so far. So that’s what we expect to keep doing. Now it’s a matter of going out and playing,” said Jeter. “I think we’re motivated enough to do it again.”

Chuck Knoblauch, who combined w/ Jeter on 155 double plays in 1999, agreed w/ his teammate that there’s too much primacy placed in today’s sports on individual achievement. “The personal rewards are an added benefit, you you get them along the way. I’m always trying to improve myself, but not at the expense of the team’s doing well. Derek’s the same way.”

Proving Knobby’s point entirely, Jeter spent the majority of the 2000 Grapefruit League season leading the Yankees in batting. His team high .433 avg. and 7 RBI in 11 games would’ve been the source of much optimism for most players in his place. But given the shortcomings of the Yankees’ overall performance this March, it would make sense that Jeter wasn’t at his most amiable before Opening Day. “I’m not where I want to be at this point of the season,” he said, after a multi-hit performance in March that brought his avg. up to .450. And you were hoping for .600?? “Noooo! There’s a long way to go. From being where I want to be, and where the team has to be, we’ve got a long way to go. You can never be just satisfied. The object is to keep developing. You don’t ever want to let up.”

Even if the eternal perfectionist playing short for the Yanks this year won’t be satisfied until he’s won 10 titles in a row, all w/ 173-0 seasons, meanwhile batting and fielding 1.000 (and leg-pressing a Jeep), Yankees fans like him just the way he is. “I’ve really gained most of the weight in my legs, by the way. I haven’t bulked up overall that much.”

Whatever you say, Big Guy.