Jeter Looks for Rhythm
Newsday, May 11, 2000
by David Lennon.
A day in the life of Derek Jeter: There you are, slogging through your worst slump in almost four years, and a reporter from Rolling Stone magazine wants to know about your relationship with Puff Daddy. On this afternoon, a few hours before yesterday's game with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will be postponed because of rain, Jeter welcomes the conversation.
He'd much rather talk rap music than answer questions about his recent problems at the plate, and to some, Busta Rhymes and Big Pun are indeed more important than balls and strikes. But Jeter is the marquee player on the world champion Yankees, and when his wattage dims, even a little, he has to deal with much more than music critics.
Just the fact that Jeter is hitless in three consecutive games for the first time since 1997 is enough for manager Joe Torre to describe his sudden skid as "odd." For all but the elite, it is a blip on the radar, a barely distinguishable spike during a 162-game season.
For Jeter, his current 0-for-12 skid and 5-for-32 spiral are such shocking irregularities that you figure he must be ready to explode.
He's batting .268, so he must be going insane, right? Not quite.
"Every year you go through something like this," Jeter said. "I don't care who you are, I don't care how good you are. But it's still so early in the season, if you have two good games, then you're back to .300-something and then people tend to forget about it. I really don't focus on it. It's just part of the game, I guess." Jeter knows what he's talking about. He's had similar struggles in each of his four previous seasons, and he has easily cracked .300 in all but one (Jeter batted .291 in 1997). With a career average of .318, he's found his level, and there's no reason to believe such a minor slump will have any lasting effect on his productivity. That's because his attitude never changes, and that mindset prevents Jeter from beating himself before he steps into the batter's box.
"You know what's interesting?" Torre said. "He's the same guy. He looks at it in a way that's not dark. He knows it's going to end. Sure, he's frustrated and he shakes his head, but he knows it's going to be OK. I've seen guys in slumps that are not sure it's going to be OK. He still has a good frame of mind, even though he's a little antsy at the plate. We just haven't seen that [type of slump] - in a couple of years, anyway." So where does an All-Star go for help? There are the obvious resources for technical assistance, such as Torre and batting coach Chris Chambliss, but Jeter has a simple approach to what appears to be a complex problem. Forget your last at-bat, don't dwell on a bad game and, if all else fails, listen to Mom.
Jeter's mother, Dorothy, likes to offer her son tips on hitting, but he may be tuning her out shortly if he doesn't turn things around soon.
"She's just basically 'see it and hit it,'" Jeter said. "Usually her advice works." Low Derek Derek Jeter's recent slump should be no cause for alarm when you consider how he's bounced back during his four previous seasons after a temporary slide.
Listed are his worst stretches through May 10, and his batting average on that date.
Year Games Slump Avg.
2000 31 5-for-32 .268 1999 30 7-for-31 .378 1998 31 6-for-35 .314 1997 36 4-for-34 .306 1996 33 5-for-34 .279