The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter

by Ian O'Connor

  “I was pretty angry about it,” Jeter said, “and I let that be known. I was angry about it because I was the one who said I wasn’t going to [talk to other teams]. To hear the organization say, ‘Go shop it,’ and I just told you I wasn’t going to, yeah, to be honest with you, I was angry about it.”

  Angry, angry, angry. It had taken fifteen years for the New York Yankees to make Derek Jeter angry.

  “I never wanted to be a free agent,” he said.

  And now everyone understood why. Jeter had been scarred in the process. He’d been bloodied just as clearly as he was bloodied on that dive into the stands against Boston in 2004, and it would take some time to heal the wounds.

  That night, outside Jeter’s Davis Islands mansion, the captain’s father reportedly pushed and grabbed a freelance photographer trying to take photos of his son. A long day and a longer year had taken their toll, and the captain wanted everything to return to the way it used to be. He wanted to trade the pursuit of a contract for the pursuit of another parade, never mind the pursuit of his 3,000th hit.

  Derek Jeter, pride of the Yankees, couldn’t wait for Opening Day.

  Acknowledgments

  The people who regularly cover Derek Jeter’s Yankees do so with a professionalism matched only by the greatest of Jeter’s teams. Their ranks include many friends and colleagues whose outsized talent and generosity helped shape this book.

  Mike Vaccaro and Joel Sherman were invaluable resources and trusted wingmen, as were Jack Curry, Bob Klapisch, and Buster Olney. George King, Michael Kay, Ken Davidoff, Tyler Kepner, Dom Amore, John Harper, Sweeny Murti, and Suzyn Waldman were among those willing to share their experiences and wisdom, as were Wallace Matthews, Andrew Marchand, Tara Sullivan, Steve Politi, Brian Costello, Anthony McCarron, Dan Graziano, Roger Rubin, John Rowe, Jeremy Schaap, Ryan Ruocco, Dave Kaplan, Murray Bauer, and Michael Rosenberg. Friends and fellow authors Adrian Wojnarowski, Joe Posnanski, David Fischer, and Dan Wetzel were good enough to fill the roles of much-needed sounding boards, and the works of Harvey Araton, Ronald Blum, Erik Boland, Filip Bondy, Sam Borden, Pete Caldera, Marc Carig, Mark Feinsand, Jon Heyman, Bryan Hoch, Chad Jennings, Bill Madden, Ben Shpigel, and Tom Verducci were among those that served as important guides.

  The late, great Vic Ziegel showed me how to tell a story, and the late, great Bill Shannon showed me how to act on game day.

  I owe a debt of gratitude to all the past and present Yankee players, coaches, and executives who gave their time and perspective to this project, and to R. D. Long, Nick Delvecchio, and other minor league teammates of Jeter’s for their kindness and candor. The same goes for the high school, summer league, and basketball teammates and coaches out of Jeter’s Kalamazoo youth, and the many big league executives and scouts who filled in too many blanks to count.

  I would also like to thank Derek Jeter himself for agreeing to field questions for this book at his locker, as he was under no obligation to do so.

  Sean Forman’s baseball-reference.com, a required destination for all fans, proved to be a lifesaver in so many ways. FanGraphs.com, retrosheet.org, fieldingbible.com, thebaseballcube.com, baseballamerica.com’s executive database, baseball-almanac.com, and LexisNexis were also terrific research tools.

  Anthony Owens of Fisk University was a great help in tracking down Charles Jeter’s former college coach and teammates. Paul Morgan of the Kalamazoo Gazette helped paint the portrait of Derek Jeter, high school star. Cathy Serra and the staff of the Kalamazoo Public Library provided published accounts of Jeter’s scholastic career, and Jeff Idelson and Bill Francis of the National Baseball Hall of Fame provided dozens of clips on Jeter’s professional career.

  I want to thank many outstanding journalists and executives under the ESPNNewYork.com, ESPN, and 1050 ESPN Radio umbrellas for their trust, including Leon Carter, Rob King, Tim McCarthy, Dave Roberts, Jim Pastor, Norby Williamson, Justin Craig, Jon Scher, Matt Marrone, Kevin Jackson, and Pete Silverman. I would also like to note the overwhelming support I received from Stephen and Mac Borg, Frank Scandale, and John Balkun at the Record of New Jersey.

  My literary agent, David Black, is the Jeter and Jordan of his trade, and a hell of a nice guy to boot. For some reason he believed in me long before I wrote three books on his watch.

  At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Megan Wilson and Larry Cooper cared about this project as much as I did, and that meant a ton. On cue, Barbara Wood did a wonderful job copyediting the manuscript and filling in the potholes. For the second time my editor, Susan Canavan, challenged me to be better on every page of every chapter and showed again why she’s among the very best at what she does.

  Finally, this book wouldn’t have been possible without my dearest friends, Tracey and Kyle O’Connor, whose unconditional love and understanding forever inspire me to make it all the way home.

  A Note on the Author’s Interviews and Sources

  Derek Jeter agreed to do a number of clubhouse interviews for this book during the 2009 season but did not agree to do a lengthy sit-down. In piecing together the narrative, I leaned on scores of interviews with Jeter that I either conducted or participated in over the course of his fifteen-year career.

  Of the dozens upon dozens of players, coaches, managers, and executives approached to discuss Jeter specifically for this book, only a handful declined. Alex Rodriguez and Joe Torre were among that handful. Their quotes on these pages were pulled from previous interviews and news conferences, including some in which I participated.

  Following is a list of people who granted interviews for this book, including those who consented to multiple interviews. Some people in and around Jeter’s baseball life, including teammates and club officials, requested and received anonymity so they could speak candidly about the shortstop without impacting their relationship with him.

  AUTHOR’S INTERVIEWS

  Ace Adams, Bob Alejo, Bob Altman, Brian Altman, Fern Altman, Jeff Antolick, Bronson Arroyo, Charlie Atkinson, Brad Ausmus, Billy Beane, Gene Bennett, Yogi Berra, Elridge Blake, John Blundell, Aaron Boone, Mike Borzello, Larry Bowa, Jim Bowden, Mike Buddie, A. J. Burnett, Homer Bush, Brian Butterfield.

  Robinson Cano, Steve Caruso, Brian Cashman, Chad Casserly, Rick Cerrone, Earl Clary, David Cone, Norm Copeland, Alex Cora, Pat Courtney, Lou Cucuzza Jr., Rob Cucuzza, Chad Curtis, Johnny Damon, Ken Davidoff, Nick Delvecchio, Gary Denbo, Bucky Dent, Mark DeRosa, Rick Down, Mariano Duncan, Jim Duquette.

  Dave Eiland, Kevin Elfering, Theo Epstein, Bill Evers, John Flaherty, Whitey Ford, Andy Fox, Pat Freehan, John Frey, Nomar Garciaparra, Clarence Gardner, Shirley Garzelloni, Joe Girardi, Monter Glasper, Nick Green, Dick Groch.

  Walter Hall, David Hart, Charlie Hayes, Trey Hillman, Mike Hinga, John Horshok, Orlando Hudson, Phil Hughes, Marie Jackson, Reggie Jackson, Bill James, Courtney Jasiak, Derek Jeter, Tommy John, Eric Johnson, Roger Kahlon, Howie Karpin, Michael Kay, Mick Kelleher, Pat Kelly, Clyde King, George King, Bob Klapisch.

  David Larson, Al Leiter, Randy Levine, Jim Leyland, Jim Leyritz, Bill Livesey, Kevin Long, R. D. Long, Matt Luke, Mitch Lukevics, Monsignor Thomas Madden, Dick Maier, Jane Maier, Jeffrey Maier, Kevin Malone, Charlie Manuel, Jerry Manuel, Tino Martinez, Kate Mascali, Lori Mascali, Tony Massarotti, Hideki Matsui, Stump Merrill, Gene Michael, Doug Mientkiewicz, Omar Minaya, Julian Mock, Gene Monahan, Wayne Moore, Paul Morgan, Chad Mottola, Jamie Moyer, Kenyon Murray, Mike Mussina.

  Ray Negron, Jeff Nelson, Beryl Newhouser, Mark Newman, Gary Nickels, Dan O’Brien, Buster Olney, Paul O’Neill, Chris Oosterbaan, Ogi Overman, Sally Padley, Dustin Pedroia, Tony Pena, Andy Pettitte, Steve Phillips, Jim Pittsley, Jorge Posada.

  Scott Raab, Tim Raines, Cody Ransom, Sandy Rehberg, Jose Reyes, J. P. Ricciardi, Jason Riley, Mariano Rivera, Keith Roberts, Francisco Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Eric Saland, Matthew Saland, Dan Shaughnessy, Gary Sheffield, Joel Sherman, Buck Showalter, Aaron Small, Ulric Smalls, Dr. James Smith, John Smoltz, Matt Stairs, Mike Stanton, Julia Ruth Stevens, Art Stewart, Darryl Strawberry, David Su
ssman.

  Mark Teixeira, Rob Thomson, George Tiedemann, Michael Tiedemann, Ray Tiedemann, Ryan Topham, Gary Tuck, Sonny Vaccaro, Bobby Valentine, Ron Villone, Jose Vizcaino, Romel Wallace, Ron Washington, Bob Watson, David Weathers, Jeff Weaver, Chris Webber, John Wetteland, Mickey White, Greg Williams, Dave Winfield, Charlie Wonsowicz, David Wright, Jason Zillo, Don Zimmer, Barry Zito, Don Zomer.

  NOTES

  The following is a chapter-by-chapter summary of additional sources that contributed to this book.

  1. The Kalamazoo Kid

  “Castles of the United States,” Tiedemann Castle, http://www.dupontcastle.com.

  CenterStage with Michael Kay, featuring Derek Jeter, YES Network, 2004.

  ESPN SportsCentury profile of Derek Jeter, ESPN, 2003.

  Fisk University, history, http://www.fisk.edu.

  Joe Gergen, “Everyone’s Hero: It’s Time for Young Star to Cash In,” Newsday, November 5, 1996.

  Derek Jeter with Jack Curry, The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams (New York: Crown, 2000).

  LeRoy E. McWilliams with Jim Bishop, Parish Priest (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1953).

  Ian O’Connor, “For Yanks’ Jeter, Life Is Beautiful: ‘If This Is a Dream, Don’t Wake Me,’” USA Today, October 26, 1999.

  John Tiedemann, Inc., history, http://www.johntiedemann.com.

  Kelly Whiteside, “Born to Be a Bomber,” Sports Illustrated, November 13, 1996.

  2. The Draft

  ESPN SportsCentury profile of Derek Jeter, ESPN, 2003.

  Andy Latora, “Jeter, Topham Draw Large Group of Scouts,” Kalamazoo Gazette, April 12, 1992.

  Major League Scouting Bureau Free Agent Scouting Reports, Jim Terrell, Dick Colpaert, and Carroll Sembera on Derek Jeter, April–May 1992.

  Paul Morgan, “Jeter Inks Deal for $800,000,” Kalamazoo Gazette, June 29, 1992.

  New York Yankees Free Agent Scouting Report, Dick Groch on Derek Jeter, April 1992.

  Buster Olney, The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty: The Game, the Team, and the Cost of Greatness (New York: HarperCollins, 2004).

  Joel Sherman, Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees (Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2006).

  3. E-6

  Jeter and Curry, The Life You Imagine.

  Tom McEwen, “Jeter’s Path Wasn’t Always the Smoothest,” Tampa Tribune, June 24, 1999.

  Paul Morgan, “Jeter Holding His Own in Rookie League,” Kalamazoo Gazette, August 19, 1992.

  Ian O’Connor, “Close to Perfect,” (White Plains, NY) Journal News, October 26, 1999.

  4. Rookie of the Year

  Dave Anderson, “Sports of the Times: Jeter Made Difference for Yankees,” New York Times, September 26, 1996.

  Jack Curry, “Psst . . . Showalter Had 2d Chance,” New York Times, December 3, 1995.

  John Giannone, “Short Stories: Jeter: Errors Can’t Shake Him,” New York Daily News, March 31, 1996.

  Charles Jeter, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award ceremony, December 1, 2009.

  Ian O’Connor, “Desert Bomber Buck Can’t Lose His Yankee Bond,” New York Daily News, February 25, 1996.

  Sherman, Birth of a Dynasty.

  5. Champion

  Mark Bradley, “’27 Yankees Might Lose to These Guys,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 22, 1996.

  MLB.com, Baseball’s Best, 1996 World Series video.

  Ian O’Connor, “Kid’s Fame Is in Reach,” New York Daily News, October 10, 1996.

  6. Perfection

  Bob Finnigan, “Rodriguez, Jeter Share Shortcuts to Success,” Seattle Times, August 19, 1996.

  Paul Hoynes, “Home with No Ring: Indians Again Fall Short of Main Goal,” (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, October 15, 1998.

  George King, Unbelievable! The Historic Season of the 1998 World Champion New York Yankees (New York: HarperCollins, 1998).

  Ian O’Connor, “Derek & Partner Can Seal It with Ring,” New York Daily News, February 10, 1998.

  O’Connor, “For Yanks’ Jeter, Life Is Beautiful.”

  O’Connor, “Torre Saddled with the Boss,” New York Daily News, March 25, 1998.

  Dotson Rader, “Mariah Carey: ‘I Didn’t Feel Worthy of Happiness,’” Parade, June 5, 2005.

  Alan Schwarz, “Long at Short,” Inside Sports, August 1997.

  7. Dynasty

  Ken Davidoff, “Livin’ La Vida Loca; For Jeter, a Balancing Act,” The Record, July 13, 1999.

  Josh Dubow, “Torre’s Cancer Dampens Strawberry’s Return,” Associated Press, March 10, 1999.

  Fred Goodall, “Yankees, Trying to Improve on Perfection, Trade for Clemens,” Associated Press, February 18, 1999.

  Derek Jeter, GameDay: My Life On and Off the Field (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001).

  George King and Jonathan Mayo, “Jeter $5M, Yankees 0: Yank SS Keeps Winning,” New York Post, February 17, 1999.

  Jack O’Connell, “Trade Hits ‘Boomer’ Like Bombshell,” Hartford Courant, February 19, 1999.

  Ian O’Connor, “Clemens Finally Lives Up to His Reputation, and to Others’ Expectations,” (White Plains, NY) Journal News, October 10, 1999.

  O’Connor, “If the Yankees Were Smart, They Would Invest in Jeter Now,” (White Plains, NY) Journal News, February 24, 1999.

  Buster Olney, “Jeter Seeks Improvement, Right Down to Core,” New York Times, February 20, 2000.

  Adrian Wojnarowski, “Jeter Learned from a Master; Yankee’s Grandfather Set Early Example,” The Record, February 24, 1999.

  8. The Flip

  Mark Feinsand, “Yanks Learned Their Importance on 9/11,” MLB.com, September 8, 2006.

  MLB.com, Baseball’s Best, 1996 World Series video.

  MLB.com, Baseball’s Best, 2001 World Series video.

  Ian O’Connor, “Championships Matter First for Jeter,” (White Plains, NY) Journal News, January 23, 2001.

  O’Connor, “Jeter’s Sister Gives Mother a Present to Remember,” (White Plains, NY) Journal News, May 14, 2001.

  O’Connor, “Yankees Charm Wizard Wooden,” USA Today, November 2, 2001.

  Olney, The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty.

  Scott Ostler, “Jeter Makes All the Difference for N.Y.; Jeter Heart and Soul of This Yankee Club,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 18, 2001.

  Scott Raab, “Jackpot!” Esquire, April, 2001.

  Lawrence Rocca and Jon Heyman, “$189M but Still Short-Changed,” Newsday, February 10, 2001.

  Henry Schulman, “Jeter’s Athletic Play Saves Yankees; Backup Relay Flip to Home Plate Catches Giambi,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 14, 2001.

  Joel Sherman, “It’s Pin-Strife at Camp Chaos—Jeter Drops the Ball as Captain,” New York Post, February 21, 2007.

  Joe Torre and Tom Verducci, The Yankee Years (New York: Doubleday, 2009).

  Tom Verducci, “2009 Sportsman of the Year: Derek Jeter,” Sports Illustrated, December 7, 2009.

  9. New Guys

  Dom Amore, “Testing Part of Labor Talks,” Hartford Courant, May 30, 2002.

  Harvey Araton, “Forget About Blame. It’s a No-Fault Collision,” New York Times, April 2, 2003.

  Bill Campbell, “Thankful for a Steal of a Chance; Rivera Trying to Make Things Right in Minors with Rangers,” Dallas Morning News, April 16, 2002.

  Marc Carig, “A-Rod Delivers Again as NY Yankees Celebrate at BBWAA Awards,” NJ.com, January 24, 2010.

  CenterStage with Michael Kay, featuring Derek Jeter, YES Network, 2004.

  Murray Chass, “Contract Omission Says It All for Yanks,” New York Times, February 11, 2005.

  Chass, “What’s $32 Million More? Yanks Sign Contreras,” New York Times, December 25, 2002.

  Wayne Coffey, “Boss Looks Back, Warns Jeter & Joe in Exclusive Sitdown with News,” Daily News, December 29, 2002.

  Josh Dubow, “Rivera Released by Yankees, Accused of Stealing from Jeter’s Locker,” Associated Press, March 12, 2002.

  ESPN SportsCentury profile of Derek Jeter, ESPN
, 2003.

  Bob Gillies and Greg Gittrich with Kristoffer Garin, “Jeter Sweeter: A-Rod Says OK as Ex-Date Is Seen with Yankee Star,” Daily News, August 19, 2001.

  Bob Klapisch, “Who’s in Charge? Boss Tweaks Torre with Jeter Move,” The Record, June 4, 2003.

  Scott Miller, “Infamous Huckaby Still Chasing Elusive Big-League Dream,” CBS SportsLine.com, March 23, 2004.

  Ian O’Connor, “Jeter’s Value Is Slipping,” (White Plains, NY) Journal News, February 25, 2003.

  O’Connor, “Yankees’ Matsui Shows All-American Traits,” USA Today, October 21, 2003.

  Roger Rubin, “Party On: Jeter Fires Back at Boss by George, Won’t Change Lifestyle,” Daily News, February 4, 2003.

  Michael Silver, “Prince of the City,” Sports Illustrated, June 21, 1999.

  Bernie Williams, BBWAA awards dinner, January 23, 2010.

  Steve Wilstein, “Jeter Answers the Boss,” Associated Press, February 13, 2003.

  10. Alex

  Ronald Blum, “A-Rod Officially Dons Yankees Pinstripes,” Associated Press, February 17, 2004.

  Howard Bryant, “Boo Birds Brutal; Fans Merciless on Yanks Stars,” Boston Herald, April 26, 2004.

  CenterStage with Michael Kay, featuring Derek Jeter, YES Network, 2004.

  Forbes magazine, MLB franchise values, April, 2004.

  Matt Lauer, Alex Rodriguez interview, Today show, NBC, February 27, 2004.

  Tony Massarotti and John Harper, A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant (Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2005).

  Ian O’Connor, “Jeter Should Look to Yankees History and Another Captain for Guidance,” USA Today, February 24, 2004.

  11. The Great Divide

  Dom Amore, “This One Makes Blood Boil; Angry Torre Blames Lack of Effort,” Hartford Courant, June 11, 2005.

  Gordon Edes, “Ortiz Raps HR, MVP Voting,” Boston Globe, September 11, 2006.