Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Yankees' Jeter in Full Swing During Spring

Tampa Tribune, March 12, 2000

by Noell Barnidge

TAMPA - Derek Jeter breaks out of his hitting slump, going 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and five RBIs in the Yankees' 23-7 bombing of Atlanta.

Derek Jeter was sitting in front of his locker Saturday when 10-year-old Andy O'Neill crept up to him and stared at the shortstop's feet.

Right-fielder Paul O'Neill's son, known around the Yankees' clubhouse as "Little O'Neill," had to know if the rumor about Jeter was true.

"Mr. Jeter, is it true that you wear special Air Jordans with spikes screwed into the bottoms?"

Jeter, a walking billboard for Nike, smiled at the child and said, "Yep, little buddy, it's true. I wear Air Jordans with spikes screwed into the bottoms."

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Jeter has that kind of affect on folks. With his matinee-idol good looks, the 25-year-old can be found everywhere from Seventeen magazine to GQ.

A bachelor, Jeter is the toast of every town, the cool kid with the one-year, $ 10-million contract. The talk about Jeter following the Yankees' 23-7 bashing of the split-squad Braves was about the spectacular show he put on for a sellout crowd of 10,315 at Legends Field.

Jeter was 4-for-4 with a two-run homer, his first of the spring, five RBIs and two runs scored. After going 0-for-3 in New York's 15-1 loss to Cleveland on Monday, Yankees fans were relieved to see their golden boy back in the groove.

"I saw the ball really well today," Jeter said. "I hit the scoreboard pretty good with that home run. You can work out all winter, you can hit balls all winter, but it's not like the experience you get from playing in games, even if they're only spring training games. It's just a matter of playing games in the spring and getting at-bats."

Following the Yankees' 23-hit performance Saturday, manager Joe Torre couldn't say enough about Jeter. He also could not stop at Jeter.

"Right now, he's swinging it real well, as is (Chuck) Knoblauch, O'Neill, Tino (Martinez), (Scott) Brosius," Torre said.

Saturday's victory put the Yankees in a pleasant mood, despite not being able to compete against most of Atlanta's marquee players, who were hosting the Florida Marlins in a split-squad game in Orlando.

Since being selected in the first round (sixth pick overall) in the June 1992 free-agent draft, Jeter has solidified himself as one of the pillars in the Yankees organization.

The American League Rookie of the Year in 1996, Jeter has won three World Series championships during his four years in the majors. Only two other

Yankees, Mickey Mantle at 21 and Joe DiMaggio at 23, have won three championships at a younger age.

Last season, Jeter hit .349 with 219 hits in 627 at-bats. He had 24 home runs and 19 steals in 158 games.