Great off-Broadway Play
No. 2 Derek Jeter is No. 1 in New Yorkers' hearts, and it's no act
Baseball Weekly, July 7, 1999 Issue
By Bill Koenig

although he is in just his fourth full season, Derek Jeter is already inviting comparisons to Yankee legends. The analogies are inevitable, given his scintillating statistics, the single digit on the back of his uniform and his recent role as the No. 3 hitter in the lineup.

But two weeks ago, it was another Yankee of notoriety to whom Jeter was being linked.

Forced to miss his first game of the season with a hamstring cramp, the shortstop watched with stunned teammates as his backup, Luis Sojo, slugged his first home run in nearly two years.

After the blast, the .206-hitting Sojo teased Jeter: "Hey, you ever hear of Wally Pipp?"

Jeter, no small student of Yankee history, smiled and said he was familiar with Pipp, who made the mistake of giving in to a headache one day and giving way to Lou Gehrig for eternity.

There is no danger of that happening to Jeter, who is all pop and no Pipp. He returned the next game and belted a 400-foot home run, his 13th of the year. Still, the sight of Jeter clutching the back of his thigh was enough of a scare.

"Everybody was collectively holding their breath," pitcher David Cone says. "He's the one player we can absolutely not afford to lose for an extended period of time."

While the Yankee offense sputtered through much of the first half like traffic on Seventh Avenue -- lurching forward one second, grinding to a halt the next -- Jeter has been as dependable as Greenwich mean time . He was hitting .378, had reached base in all but one of his first 78 games, had not gone hitless in consecutive games and was among the AL's Top Five players in seven offensive categories.

"He has carried us," Cone says. "He's definitely our MVP in the first half."

Manager Joe Torre acknowledged that late last month when he dropped Jeter from second to third -- the glamour spot -- in the batting order. The move seemed to immediately ignite the entire team. The Yankees won 10 of their next 12 games.

Jeter thought he was about to get fined for something when he was summoned to Torre's office June 18. Instead, he learned that he was about to walk in the imposing footsteps of Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and Don Mattingly.

Jeter has heard of them as well, but is more concerned with quality plate appearances than pinstriped immortality.

"You want to have good at-bats no matter where you hit," he says. "I didn't go up there thinking, 'I'm hitting second so I can relax.' All this means is my first at-bat of the game is now a minute-and-a-half later than it used to be. That's the only difference." Jeter was so shaken by the move that he hit .399 (17-for-43) with 12 runs and nine RBI in 12 games before he went back to his customary second spot.

Torre had one reservation about moving Jeter down. "When you bat third, you might be a little reluctant to steal bases because you don't want to take the bat out of the cleanup hitter's hands," Torre says. "I don't think that will matter in our lineup. I think he can still steal 30 or more bases every year." Or, perhaps as soon as this season, slug 30 homers like peers Alex Rodriguez in Seattle and Nomar Garciaparra in Boston.

"I'm surprised any time I hit a homer," he protests. "If I try to hit home runs, I have no chance." Jeter's power improved from 10 home runs each of his first two seasons to 19 last year. But it might have cost him 10-15 points on his average -- as well as a possible batting title.

"I tried so hard the last two weeks to get my 20th homer," he says. "I didn't get many hits, period. I learned my lesson."

The Texas Rangers were impressed by an opposite-field, upper-deck shot to right field last season, but this year Jeter is turning on more balls and yanking them to left.

"I worked hard on adjusting my swing in the offseason," he says. "I worked on my top hand to drive the ball. You learn from experience what balls you can drive and what balls you can't.

"But that still doesn't necessarily mean I want to hit more home runs. ... If the homers come, they come." Jeter's teammates no longer are surprised by anything he does.

"I was a little in the beginning of the season," first baseman Tino Martinez says. "I thought, 'Oh, he's really hot.' But now I realize he's just that good. Everybody pitches him tough, but he's just a great player. If anything, I'm surprised how fast he got to this level."

Jeter, who recently turned 25, has been destined for greatness since he arrived in September 1995. It's in the numbers. If being asked to bat third at Yankee Stadium is more a coronation than an assignment, wearing a single-digit uniform in the Bronx is to be linked with icons who reside in Monument Park. Jeter's No. 2 and Torre's No. 6 are the only single-digit uniform numbers the Yankees haven't retired. Originally, Jeter hoped to wear No. 13.

"That was my number in the minor leagues," he says. "I always wore 13 because my dad wore it in college. But Jim Leyritz already had 13 when I got here, so they gave me No. 2. I knew a lot about Yankee history, the numbers and all, but I tried not to think about it. I was just happy to be here."

Former Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer, who wore No. 2 before Jeter, says it's a good fit.

"When Pete Sheehy (the former clubhouse attendant) gave out uniforms, he always had a sense of who the longtime Yankees would be," says Murcer, now a Yankee broadcaster. "When he awarded you one of those low numbers, it was special. Those numbers were meant for guys like Derek Jeter. He's a special young man." Bench coach Don Zimmer, with 50 years of professional baseball under his belt, is another who believes Jeter some day could wind up on hallowed ground.

"Let me ask you," he says, posing a rhetorical question, "what happens if Derek Jeter continues to do what he's doing for the next eight, nine years? He'll be in the Hall of Fame, won't he? All the middle infielders in the Hall of Fame hit between .260 and .270. This kid don't know what it is to hit .260." Jeter also doesn't know what it is to be politically incorrect. After the Yankees' belated trip to the White House last month, he was asked whom he favors in the impending New York Senate race. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an avowed Yankee fan, or First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was sporting a Yankee cap on the South Lawn.

"I don't care," Jeter said. "May the best man -- or woman -- win."

While Jeter shows no inclination toward politics, Torre recently hit the campaign trail for him. With two weeks to go in the All-Star balloting, and Jeter's lead over Garciaparra shrinking to fewer than 8,000 votes, Torre stumped for his man.

"Every other ballpark, they seem to be lobbying for their players and it catches on," Torre said. "I'd like to see the people of New York vote (for Jeter). I'd be disappointed if he didn't start, only because the kid is having such a marvelous season, and that's taking nothing away from Garciaparra. Put a ton of ballots on my desk and I'll start punching away." One week before the starters were announced, Jeter's lead ballooned back up to 30,000 votes.

"I think every player who ever played baseball from the time of Little League dreams of starting in the All-Star Game," says Jeter, who was a backup to Rodriguez last year and hasn't started. "We've got a lot of good shortstops in our league." One of those is his pal, A-Rod. They speak as often as possible on the phone.

"He's one of my best friends," Jeter says. "But a lot of times, he won't call unless he's doing well. You know when there is a message waiting from him that he did something. You gotta watch SportsCenter that night."

Yankee fans have higher goals than the All-Star Game in mind. The fans in the right-field bleachers began chanting "MVP! MVP!" last month during their unique roll call for each Yankee starter in the first inning. It's obligatory for the players to acknowledge the greeting, but Jeter refused to respond.

"Sure, you hear it," he says. "But it's way too early to think about stuff like MVP. We've got almost 100 games left."

Asked to pick the most satisfying part of his season, he says: "The fact we're in first place even though we haven't played that well."

That genuine modesty impresses the Yankees more than any of Jeter's patented jump-throws from deep in the hole or his game-winning hits.

"The thing that impresses me about him is how he handles who he is," Murcer says. "And how much he appreciates the game. He knows the history of the Yankees and respects those great players."

Walk through the clubhouse and it becomes obvious that Jeter is as well-liked as he is talented.

"Certain guys just have a gift," second baseman Chuck Knoblauch says. "He's like a manager, the way he can juggle all the different personalities. He gets along with everybody in the clubhouse. That says a lot for a guy who just turned 25.

"He always walks around with a smile on his face. He's a special person, like Kirby Puckett was in Minnesota. It's fun to see a good guy like him have success." Don't let the smile fool you. Jeter -- who still calls his manager Mr. Torre -- can be plenty assertive when he has to. He isn't afraid to speak his mind.

After a recent game, a TV cameraman turned his camera on before Jeter had finished dressing, something considered improper in any clubhouse. Jeter politely told him to hold off until he put his shirt on. About 20 seconds later, the man lifted his camera back onto his shoulder. This time, the glare from Jeter's eyes was brighter than the TV lights.

"I asked you nicely, didn't I?" he said. "Is that too much to ask?"

He has become a clubhouse leader as well. Last September in Baltimore, a pop fly fell among Jeter and two outfielders for a hit. Former Yankee pitcher David Wells threw up his arms in obvious disgust. Returning to the dugout after the inning, Jeter told Wells, "We don't show you up after you give up a home run. Don't do it to us."

Off the field, Jeter is the quintessential New York celebrity, from cameo appearances at the China Club to courtside seats at Knicks games to all-too-frequent mentions in the tabloid gossip columns. Is there a magazine that hasn't had Jeter on the cover in the past 18 months?

"My mom saves 'em," he says, "but she might be sick of seeing me by now."

Jeter knows when to draw the line. He spends the offseason in Tampa, close to the Yankees' training facility and out of harm's way.

"I've seen him turn down numerous endorsement opportunities in the offseason," Cone says. "He could easily make millions in endorsements.

"There is a great national awareness of Derek that is rare for players his age. Baseball has certain players with high national recognition. Ken Griffey Jr. Cal Ripken. Jeter is right at the top in popularity. He's the hottest thing going."

As his birthday neared last month, well-wishers showed their affection. A vase of flowers, a dozen long-stemmed roses in a wrapper and three balloons awaited him at his locker before one game.

After games, the rhythm outside the stadium seems to pick up when Jeter strolls through the police barricades lining the route to the players' parking lot. Five or six young fans sneak through to grab Jeter or try for an autograph. The cops step in and gently pull them off the player's back.

Long after Jeter has disappeared into his dark Mercedes sedan, one teen-aged girl begs an officer to let her into the private parking area:

"I just want to say hello ... I'll pay you (the offer is refused) ... I've got to see him."

It's not only the girls who are hyper.

"Usually, we have a few cops on horses out here," Sgt. Lenny Tobie says with a laugh. "It seems when Jeter comes out, the horses get a little crazy because the decibel level goes up. They get spooked, I guess." Jeter admits he would like a little more privacy about his life away from baseball -- "You (media) don't go up to Paul O'Neill or Tino Martinez and ask them what they did with their wives last night," he argues -- but he also embraces his fame.

"This is the best job anybody could have," he says. "Of course, I'm prejudiced. I have this job. "I don't have any complaints. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Like I've always said, the only thing I don't like is the traffic in the city."

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