Jeter Unfiltered Page 4
There’s Always Tomorrow
Baseball is a game of ups and downs, good days and bad days. I always tell my teammates, “We’ve got another one tomorrow.” I think it’s that way with life, too. There are going to be bumps along the way, but you’ve got to pick yourself up and move on. That’s why I like the sport most of all. My dad taught me that lesson early, as my coach and ever since. He should know, he’s watched every single game of my career.
Same Game, New Rules
There’s more player movement than there ever was in the past, so the camaraderie of guys playing on one team for their entire career of fifteen to twenty years is going to be few and far between from here on out. With free agency what it is, teams are constantly trading and it’s all become more of a business in the past few years. I can’t think of one team’s roster that has had the same guys for five years, let alone ten.
Mo Knows
Mariano Rivera is quiet but he’s probably the most confident player I’ve ever played with. He avoided the spotlight for most of his career, until last year of course, when the attention was on him for the entire season. What you see is what you get with Mo. He took a lot of pride in doing his job—he worked hard and played hard. Although he’s quiet, he has a pretty good sense of humor, which is something people might not realize about him.
Drive
I think everyone wants to win—that’s universal. But I don’t think losing affects everyone the same way. Some people accept it and are fine with it. Only some are willing to make all of the sacrifices necessary to win. Some people are easily satisfied, while others continue to strive for what’s next. And that desire for perfection is something else. To me, it can’t be taught. You either have it or you don’t.
THE BIG 4-0
I’ve heard for men forty is the new twenty. It was like every other birthday—inside I really didn’t feel any different. Then again I play a kid’s game for a living. In my head I still feel like I’m young.
Surprise!
I turned forty midway through my final season. We went to dinner before my party and I thought it was just going to be my parents, my sister, my girlfriend, and my nephew. But when we showed up, all of my closest friends were there. Gifts are great, don’t get me wrong, but having all of those people present meant a lot to me, even more so because I didn’t expect it. Former teammates, friends, and my agent—I’ve got a really small group of close friends and they were all there.
24/7
You know The Truman Show, the Jim Carrey movie where he grows up on television? That’s what my year has been like so far. The difference between baseball and other sports is that we play every day, so I’ve been on TV every single day. It’s funny, I feel like so many people have been coming out and paying their respects, which is something I don’t like to hear because it sounds like I’m going to be dying at the end of the season. Fans will say, “It was great seeing you,” and I always reply, “I’m not dying, you’ll be seeing me; I’m just not going to be playing baseball anymore.”
PERENNIAL ALL-STAR
I was scared to death when I played my first All-Star Game. It was 1998, I was twenty-four, and playing against guys that I grew up watching. I felt out of place and in awe. My last one was special because I knew I wouldn’t get the opportunity to do that again.
Catching Up
Everything surrounding the game is overwhelming, because from the moment we land, there are things for us to do every minute of the day. But the game itself is always really fun. There are guys you play against who you admire and respect from afar for what they do, and at the All-Star Game you get to be their teammate and get to know their personalities.
First But Not Last
I won the All-Star Game MVP award in 2000. At the time, I wasn’t aware that no Yankee had ever won it, and it was an incredible honor to be the first. I’m not the only one anymore, though; Mariano Rivera won it in 2013. Playing in the All-Star Game is a treat, a chance to consider rivals as teammates just for a few days, and to compete with the best to put on a show for the fans. My parents have come to every All-Star Game I’ve played in, since they never took for granted that I would have the opportunity again.
RE2PECT
My parents taught me the value of respect at a very young age and that has had a huge impact on the way I’ve played the game. I’ve tried to show respect to my managers, my teammates, fans, even opponents, and my desire to earn similar respect has influenced my decisions on and off the field. When the Yankees honored me at the stadium it was truly a special experience. They brought together more people than I expected, and I was moved by their presence and support.
Always There for Me
My parents have been involved in my development as a baseball player and a person through every step. They’ve been an endless source of strength, support, and inspiration. They’ve encouraged me, stood up for me, challenged me, and set an example I hope to follow. If anything, I feel like this day should have been dedicated to them, as well as me.
Where It All Began
What made this day at the stadium so unique was having my baseball family and my personal family together on the field. I’ve been fortunate to have a great support system in both. Growing up, it was my grandmother who really fostered my love of the Yankees because she was a Yankee fan. When I would visit her in New Jersey during the summer, at night we’d watch the games, just me and her. And going to a game would be a reward if I had done really well in school the previous year. She’s the reason I became a Yankee fan. So to have her on the field with me was a real treat.
Friends and Mentors
Cal Ripken Jr. is the reason I was able to stay at shortstop because Cal was the first really big guy to play the position. When I was younger, people would tell me I was too tall to play short and my first line of defense was, “Well, Cal Ripken is doing it.” I got to play against him, and after he retired I’ve run into him over the years. But for him to come out for my final home game, not even being a part of the Yankee organization, meant a lot. Michael Jordan, too. I competed against him when he was playing baseball in the Arizona Fall League in 1994, and I’ve gotten to know him well since then. He’s like a brother now—a big brother who still keeps a few secrets, because I had no clue he was going to be there that day. He was a complete surprise.
Giving Back
The biggest honor for me that day at the stadium was having so many members of the Jeter’s Leaders program present. I saw this as a chance for them to get some recognition, too. I’ve always felt a strong responsibility to use my career and visibility to do something more. I’m very proud of what my Turn 2 Foundation has done and continues to do for young people, like the great ambassadors who were with me on the field that day.
TEAM OF RIVALS
What Boston did for my final game was unbelievable. The fans were chanting for me at a place where I’ve heard them chant against me too many times to count. Everything that happened at Fenway that day was pretty outstanding. The entire Red Sox team came out to greet me before the game along with all of these great athletes from Carl Yastrzemski to Bobby Orr, which took a lot of time and planning. I didn’t know anything about it and I didn’t expect it at all. For the Red Sox organization to put forth that much effort to recognize someone who’s been an enemy, for lack of a better way to put it, was something really special.
Good-bye and Good Luck
After my second at bat and my last hit, I left the game, and on the way to the dugout, I went over to Clay Buchholz, which probably seemed strange to people watching. The entire Red Sox team came out to greet me before the game, except for the pitcher and catcher because they were warming up. I got a chance to speak to the catcher when I went to the plate, but not pitcher, so I walked over and said, “I know this is odd, but I didn’t get a chance to tell you before that it’s been a pleasure competing against you, and good luck in your career.” I didn’t want to leave him out.
Hustle to the End
&n
bsp; I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Ichiro. We’re talking about a guy who has gotten over 4,000 hits. He’s someone I’ve always admired from afar and I’m glad I got a chance to play with him. Going into that last game, I just wanted my last at bat to be a hit. I was fortunate that it was, but I almost blew out both hamstrings getting it. It was an infield chopper, so I ran it out as fast as I could. It’s never taken talent to play hard and hustle, and that’s how my last hit was.
LOOKING AHEAD
After the last out in my last game, it will be the first time since middle school that I won’t have a schedule or a routine to follow. My life has been structured, because it had to be for me to achieve my dreams. That part of my life will end, but that doesn’t mean I’ll start doing a whole lot of nothing. My future will be busy and I have big plans, most of which probably won’t fall in line with what people expect from me. I’m looking forward to surprising them.
New Teammates
I’ve always been interested in the business of sport and I think I have a fairly entrepreneurial spirit. Now I’ll have the time to actually pursue some other projects and establish myself in a different way. I’ve spent twenty years focusing on the team and on winning. Now I’ll be able to focus on things that matter to me outside of playing baseball. One thing I’ve always been concerned about is health and healthy living, which is why I’ve partnered with Luvo, a company that makes healthy, nutritious meals that also taste good.
Sticking with What Works
Even though I’m moving on from my career as a ballplayer, some things will stay the same even in retirement. I’m a creature of habit so I will still get a Red Eye from Starbucks before I go wherever it is I’m going. And I’ll continue to work out with my trainer, Jason, the way we have for the past six years.
New Ventures
One of the projects I’m most excited about is Jeter Publishing, the imprint I’ve established with Simon & Schuster. I plan to be hands-on with every book we publish, and I intend to go after great stories and interesting subjects, and not just in sports. I want the imprint to be a place where people can tell their stories their way. And I intend to do the same with my online venture, The Players’ Tribune, where athletes from all sports will be able to tell their stories, first person, exactly the way they want to. I want to provide a community where they can connect directly with their fans, no filter.
Free Time!
The greatest thing about my future is not knowing what every step will be. I have my foundation, I have my business interests and ventures, and I have my goals, like owning a team one day. But there’s no schedule, there’s no routine, and there’s no end date. I’m looking forward to making the most of that flexibility.
THANK YOU, NEW YORK
I don’t even know where my mind was—it was all over the place, from the moment my final game at the stadium started until the moment it ended. I thought I was going to lose it by the eighth inning. I was trying to stay in control, just hoping I wouldn’t get emotional out on the field. If the game had ended the way it looked like it was going to, I really would have lost it, I have no doubt about that. But then things changed, and I went from being sad to being really excited.
Still There for Me
Mr. T came by before the game to wish me luck, and all of my inner circle was there to support me. It was hard to keep my focus, my mind was literally in a hundred places at once.
Some Things Don’t Change
My trainer, Stevie [Donohue], stretched me before the game the way he’s done for years and years. He has been with the organization my whole career. He began as the assistant trainer under Geno [Monahan], who was with the team for decades. Now Stevie is the head trainer. As much as I went through my routine the way I always had, I can’t lie, this time it was different knowing it was my final home game, my last time doing all of those things at the stadium.
A Prayer Answered
I began to get really choked up in the eighth and ninth innings, and when the fans started chanting, “Thank You Derek,” I wasn’t sure I could keep my emotions under control. Then when the game was tied up I got back into it, because I wanted to win. Before I took my last at bat, I kneeled and prayed the way I always have. But this time my prayer was a little different. I said “God, if I have one more big moment in me, now is the time.”
Letting Go
CC Sabathia was on the field celebrating before the runner scored. He was the first one out of the dugout, and if our guy had been thrown out at the plate, CC would have been standing there all alone in the middle of the field. He’d just had knee surgery, but he didn’t care, he was out there to celebrate. After we won, I took a moment and went to short, knelt down and said, “Thank you, God. Thank you for twenty years of me being able to live my dreams.”
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
All my friends and family; Chris Anderson, Maureen Cavanagh and Gary Hoenig; Anthony Causi, Tom DiPace, Karen Carpenter and George Amores; Jason Zillo and the entire Yankees Media Relations Department.
DEREK JETER is a fourteen-time All-Star and five-time World Series winner who has played for one team—the storied New York Yankees—for all twenty seasons of his major league career. His grace and class on and off the field have made him into an icon and role model far beyond the world of baseball.
CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON is an internationally recognized photographer who is a member of Magnum Photos and Photographer in Residence at New York magazine. His numerous awards include the prestigious Robert Capa Gold Medal. Follow him on Instagram or visit www.christopherandersonphoto.com
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authors.simonandschuster.com/Christopher-Anderson
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PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS:
Chuck Solomon/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Frank Franklin II/AP
Maureen Cavanagh (3)
Maureen Cavanagh
Chris O’Meara/AP (top); John Cordes/ICON SMI/Corbis (bottom)
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Paul Sancya/AP (top); Bill Kostroun/AP (bottom)
Greg M. Cooper/USA Today Sports
Jamie Squire/Allsport/Getty Images
Maureen Cavanagh
Tim Clayton/CORBIS
Rob Tringali/MLB Photos/Getty Images
Kyodo/AP (top); VJ Lovero/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Mark Lennihan/AP
Gary Stewart/AP
David Liam Kyle/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Barton Silverman/The New York Times/Redux
Maureen Cavanagh
Mike Segar/Reuters/Corbis (top); Frank Franklin II/AP (bottom)
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images (top); Ed Betz/AP (bottom)
Tomasso DeRosa/AP
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Mike Segar/Reuters/Corbis
Tom DiPace (top); Bill Kostroun/AP (bottom)
Paul Sancya/AP
Charlie Riedel/AP
Maureen Cavanagh (bottom)
Courtesy of the Jeter Family (3)
Robert Caplan/The New York Times/Redux (top); Courtesy of the Jeter Family (bottom)
Chuck Solomon/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Kathy Willens/AP
Tom DiPace
Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Cary Edmondson/USA Today Sports (top); Nick Laham/Getty Images (bottom)
Robert Deutsch/USA Today Sports
Chuck Solomon/S
ports Illustrated/Getty Images
Rich Pilling/MLB Photos/Getty Images
Linda Cataffo/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images (2)
Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library (top); Chuck Solomon/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images (bottom)
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Tom DiPace (top); Issei Kato/Reuters/Corbis (bottom)
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Jessica Foster/MLB Photos/Getty Images
Rich Pilling/MLB Photos/Getty Images
Anthony Causi
John Mabanglo/AFP/Getty Images
Barton Silverman/The New York Times/Redux
Simon Bruty/Getty Images
Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
VJ Lovero/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Mark Lennihan/AP
Chuck Solomon/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images (top); Adam Hunger/USA Today Sports (bottom)