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  DEDICATION

  To make a dream come true, you need a lot of help, and I was lucky enough to get more than my share. Start with a family that has always believed in me and never let me sell myself short on or off the field. Add to that a set of mentors who taught me what it means to wear the pinstripes and be a ballplayer for the greatest franchise in professional sports. There’s the two decades’ worth of teammates and brothers who played the game with me and left me with a bunch of rings to show for it.

  Finally, there’s the New York fans. They’re as tough a crowd as you’ll find anywhere but when they do give you their love, there’s nothing else like it. The pictures in this book show a side of me that most of those fans have never seen. I hope you all enjoy it.

  CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  SPRING TRAINING

  ANNOUNCING MY FINAL SEASON

  THE FANS

  OPENING DAY

  PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

  FAMILY FIRST

  THE TEAM

  THE POSTSEASON

  A BANNER YEAR, 2009

  3,000

  THE BIG 4-0

  PERENNIAL ALL-STAR

  RE2PECT

  TEAM OF RIVALS

  LOOKING AHEAD

  THANK YOU, NEW YORK

  SPECIAL THANKS

  ABOUT DEREK JETER AND CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON

  PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

  INTRODUCTION

  I want to start by saying thank you.

  I know they say that when you dream you eventually wake up. Well, for some reason, I’ve never had to wake up. Not just because of my time as a New York Yankee but also because I am living my dream every single day.

  Last year was a tough one for me. As I suffered through a bunch of injuries, I realized that some of the things that always came easily to me and were always fun had started to become a struggle. The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward.

  So really it was months ago when I realized that this season would likely be my last. As I came to this conclusion and shared it with my friends and family, they all told me to hold off saying anything until I was absolutely, 100 percent sure.

  And the thing is, I could not be more sure. I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball.

  I’ve experienced so many defining moments in my career: winning the World Series as a rookie shortstop, being named the Yankees captain, closing the old and opening the new Yankee Stadium. Through it all, I’ve never stopped chasing the next one. I want to finally stop the chase and take in the world.

  For the last twenty years I’ve been completely focused on two goals: playing my best and helping the Yankees win. That means that for 365 days a year, my every thought and action was geared toward that goal. It’s now time for something new.

  From the time I was a kid, my dream was always very vivid, and it never changed: I was going to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees. It started as an empty canvas more than twenty years ago, and now that I look at it, it’s almost complete. In a million years, I wouldn’t have believed just how beautiful it would become.

  So many people have traveled along this journey with me and helped me along the way: I want to especially thank the Boss, the Steinbrenner family, the entire Yankees organization, my managers, my coaches, my teammates, my friends, and of course, above all, my family. They taught me incredible life lessons and are the number-one reason I lasted this long. They may not have been on the field, but they feel they played every game with me, and I think they are ready to call it a career as well.

  I also couldn’t have done it without the people of New York. New York fans always pushed me to be my best. They have embraced me, loved me, respected me, and have always been there for me. This can be a tough, invasive, critical, and demanding environment. The people of this city have high expectations and are anxious to see them met.

  But it’s those same people who have challenged me, cheered for me, beat me down, and picked me back up all at the same time. New York made me stronger, kept me more focused, and made me a better, more well-rounded person. For that, I will be forever grateful. I never could have imagined playing anywhere else.

  I will remember it all: the cheers, the boos, every win, every loss, all the plane trips, the bus rides, the clubhouses, the walks through the tunnel, and every drive to and from the Bronx. I have achieved almost every personal and professional goal I have set. I have gotten the very most out of my life playing baseball, and I have absolutely no regrets.

  Now it is time for the next chapter in my life. I have new dreams and aspirations, and I want new challenges. There are many things I want to do in business and in philanthropic work, in addition to focusing more on my personal life and starting a family of my own. And I want the ability to move at my own pace, see the world, and finally have a summer vacation.

  But before that, I want to soak in every moment of every day this year, so I can remember it for the rest of my life. And most important, I want to help the Yankees reach our goal of winning another championship.

  Once again, thank you.

  SPRING TRAINING

  This spring training was different, because more than ever before, I focused on trying to enjoy it. When everyone shows up for spring training, all they look forward to is the end of it. Most guys just can’t wait to get out there on Opening Day and start playing. A countdown begins—thirty days left, twenty days left, and so on—it’s all the guys talk about. I’ve done that, too, in the past, but not this time. I went in and tried to enjoy every day, without thinking about the end of it. The end would come soon enough.

  Welcome to the Big Time

  I remember showing up for my first spring training at eighteen years old. It used to be held down in Fort Lauderdale, so Doug, who has been my friend since fourth grade, made the long drive with me from Kalamazoo in the first car that I’d bought, a red Mitsubishi 3000. I was nervous, I was intimidated, I was scared. After being a lifelong Yankees fan who had played most of his years with a friend at third base, throwing to another friend at first, and flicking it to a close friend at second, all of a sudden there I am with Don Mattingly at first base and Wade Boggs at third. Those are guys I grew up watching and idolizing, so it was intimidating, to say the very least.

  Preemptive Strike

  I don’t have as much hair as I did when I first started playing professionally, so I like to keep it short now. It cuts down on my time getting ready. But I would just like people to know that this hairstyle is by choice, not necessity, okay?

  To avoid injuries during the season, you have to stay limber during the off-season, and my masseuse, Nicole, makes sure of that. She comes over twice a week, and let me tell you, getting massages isn’t as relaxing as one may think.

  Old Dog, New Tricks

  I started doing yoga about three years ago, and I really enjoy it. When you get a little older, it helps with your flexibility, so I do it once or twice a week with my teacher, Kelly. I really see a difference; I think if I’d done it earlier in my career, the moves and stances would be easier for me now, but it has served its purpose. People think yoga is easy. It’s not, it can be quite difficult; but whenever I do it, afterward I feel a whole lot better—and a little sore.

  New Faces

>   I used to always look for Jorge Posada first when I showed up for spring training because he was my closest friend on the team. He and I had a spring training tradition: on the last day we would order a bunch of Hooters chicken wings, then we’d drive to Baskin-Robbins and get ice cream. Not exactly what a nutritionist would advise, but we weren’t telling. Jorge has been retired for a few years now, and there are so many new faces in Tampa, so what I really look forward to when we all show up is getting to know all the new guys. I’ve always gone out of my way to try to get to know people’s personalities, and before the season starts, when you’re all there together getting ready, is the best time to do that. With the young guys, the future Yankees, I want to be able to say that I really knew them when.

  ANNOUNCING MY FINAL SEASON

  I’ve never doubted my decision to retire, not once. I used to wonder how I would know when it was time to retire. Older guys would tell me that I’d just know, and that didn’t seem like much of an answer at the time—but they were right. I didn’t want my teammates to have the distraction of facing questions about my future after every single game, and to be honest I didn’t want to be asked about it thousands of times either, so I knew I had to reveal my decision before the start of the season. I spent a considerable amount of time on my letter that was posted on Facebook. There were just so many thoughts and thank-yous I wanted to convey and I wanted to get it right.

  Time to Say Goodbye

  I knew I was going to retire quite some time before I announced it at the start of the 2014 season, because I felt it in my heart. But family and friends told me to wait until I was completely healthy and sure of my decision. They didn’t want an injury to sway me. I always knew deep down that it wasn’t the reason, but I took their advice and waited anyway, just to be completely sure. They thought that when I felt good again I might decide that I wanted to play for a few more years, but that feeling never came. I’ve been playing ball for a long time—twenty years. And playing in New York? That’s like dog years.

  This Is the End

  I’ve been asked if I think I’ll come back to play the game like other athletes have, and to that, I can most definitely say no. I’m gone. This is it.

  THE FANS

  This year has been incredible—more than I could have ever expected, or dreamed of. Words can’t even begin to describe how special this feels. The fans everywhere are treating me so well. In my last game in each stadium, I’ve been treated to standing ovations and cheering. Opposing teams’ fans have pretty much always been respectful to me, but they’ve taken it to another level—a level I didn’t think was possible.

  Words to Remember

  I certainly didn’t expect such a strong reaction from fans across the country. People have said so many memorable things to me during my final season, and some of the best have been the simplest. Some people will just say “Thank you. Thank you for playing the game the right way. Thank you for the way you handle yourself, playing hard but always with respect.” A lot of parents have thanked me for being a great role model for their kids. Those are the things that really hit home for me. Those are the things that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

  Nothing Quite Like It

  Our fans are great. When they start chanting your name, and you hear the sound of thousands of people chanting together, there’s nothing better. When I was younger and dreamt of playing in the majors, I imagined a lot about what it would be like, but hearing the fans cheer wasn’t part of my dream. And even if it was, nothing can prepare you for that when you experience it for the first time. The cheering feels really good.

  I’ve been on the other side of that as well, having a whole stadium boo me. I got that on the road a lot in my career, which makes how I’ve been received on the road this season all the better. It’s been awesome, but I have to say, when Yankee fans cheer for you and chant your name in Yankee Stadium, there’s not a single feeling in the whole wide world that can top that.

  Fan Club

  I remember the first time I saw a fan wearing my T-shirt. I was out at a restaurant on the Upper East Side called Cronies that was not too far from my apartment, during my first season, and I saw a girl walking by with my name and number on her T-shirt—I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.

  Me Time

  I love driving myself to the stadium for home games. I use that time to call family and friends, or just take some quiet time for myself before I get to the ballpark. It’s the one hour in the day that’s all mine. Once I’m there, I have very little free time, because there’s always something going on: batting practice, media interviews, meet and greets, trainer time, you name it. I’ve gotten rides when I have events I’m going to before or after, but generally I really like driving myself to the stadium and pulling into my spot.

  OPENING DAY

  The one thing that never changes is the butterflies. I’ve gotten them every Opening Day since my first, and 2014 was no different.

  An Invocation

  When I kneel down before every game, I say a prayer that I’ve been saying pretty much the same way since Little League. It’s a quick prayer, before every game and every at bat. It’s short but important. I pray that I have a good game and that I don’t get injured. I pray to play well and stay healthy.

  And Then There Was One

  It was cool to have Mo, Andy, and Jorge at the stadium with me on Opening Day—those guys are like brothers to me. I wish they were still playing with me; this is the first year where I haven’t played with at least one of them. That took some getting used to. For me, Jorge was the toughest one to see go, because we are so close. He was a position player, so he and I were together pretty much every day for eighteen years. We relied on each other and picked each other up when times were tough. Back in 1997, Jorge was sent down to the minors and brought up again four or five times and we dealt with that. He felt like he was being demoted, and I had a hard time losing my best friend on the team every other week. It was frustrating but we talked a lot and I tried my best to help him stay positive and confident. That happened to all of us—I got sent down, Mo did too. It makes you feel like you’re not doing your job, and when that happens you need your friends there to pick you up. So Jorge retiring was the most difficult transition for me. Then Andy and Mo retired in 2013, so I got used to it. I didn’t like it, but I got used to it.

  An Empty Introduction

  The day I received the 1994 Minor League Player of the Year Award, I went to New York to attend a ceremony at Yankee Stadium. Major League Baseball players were on strike, so there were no MLB games being played, there or anywhere. I was twenty years old and had just two suits and two ties . . . I’ve gotten a couple more since then. It was strange, no one was there. It was a small event in a ghost stadium.

  It’s Go Time

  This is me, warming up on May 29, 1995, about to make my first appearance as a New York Yankee, and I was scared to death. The morning before at like five or six o’clock I got a call from our Triple-A manager. I had no clue what was going on, I thought maybe I’d been traded, but he said, “Congratulations, you’re going up to the Big Leagues.” I was on a plane to Seattle the next day. The team was traveling up from Anaheim, and I was meeting them in Seattle; I arrived first and grabbed a cab to get to the hotel. The moment the cab got to the top of a hill, I took in a view of the skyline and it took my breath away. I could see the whole city below, and I said to myself, “Oh, man. This is it.” Even though my first game wasn’t in New York, it was still huge to me.

  You Never Forget the First Time

  My best Opening Day ever was my first one, on April 1 in Cleveland in 1996. I hit my first MLB home run, I played pretty well, and we won. Your memory of the first time you do something always stays with you, so that will always be one of the most special games I’ve ever played. The guy who caught my home run ball wouldn’t turn it in, so I don’t have it. Maybe he still has it, maybe he threw it away. I guess we’ll never know.


  PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

  My biggest fear in life, on or off the field, is to be unprepared—for anything. I’ve always relied on practice, repetition, and discipline, so not being prepared makes me nervous and uncomfortable. In any profession, the more you do things the more they become second nature, and once that happens, you no longer have to think, you just do. That is what practice is for—to think about what you’re doing and how it’s all working so that when you play, hopefully it all comes together naturally. That is the goal, and the only way to reach it is through dedicated repetition.

  The Flip

  Now this is something that no amount of practice can prepare you for. No team or player ever practices flipping the ball home, so I can’t say I was prepared for this play. I just was where I was supposed to be on the field, which was the right place at the right time, I guess. I caught the ball running with both hands on a bounce, and flipping it to Jorge was the only way I thought we could get the out. This play is one of those things you’ll never see again. I don’t think any other teams practice the alignment we had on that play, and we certainly never practiced a situation where the ball was off-line and there was a play at the plate, so everything about that moment was completely improvised. It was the playoffs and we were on the brink of elimination, so it got a lot of attention, and though it’s tough for me to rank, I consider it one of the best plays I’ve ever made.