Derek Jeter was born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, at Chilton Hospital, to an African-American father, Dr. Sanderson Charles Jeter; his mother Dorothy is of Irish/German descent. The family lived in North Arlington, New Jersey, before moving to Kalamazoo, Michigan, when he was 4. He also has a sister named Sharlee.As a child Derek's grandmother made him a passionate fan of his future team, the New York Yankees[2] High school Jeter was inspired to play baseball by Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.[3] In high school, Jeter was a star baseball player at Kalamazoo Central High School, where he also played basketball, earning an All-State honorable mention. After batting .557 as a sophomore, Jeter hit .508 (30-59) with 7 HR, 23 RBIs 21 BB, and 1 strikeout his junior year. His on base percentage was .637. Jeter collected many awards at season's end, including the Kalamazoo Area B'nai B'rith Award for Scholar Athlete, the 1992 High School Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the year award, and USA Today's High School Player of the Year. In December 2007, Jeter was inducted into the Kalamazoo Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Draft Although Jeter received a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Michigan, he was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 6th overall pick of the 1992 amateur draft and chose to go pro. Jeter has said, however, that he will eventually go back to college and earn a degree.[2] Minor league career Jeter spent four years in the minor leagues, beginning in the Rookie League before advancing to Class A. He spent 2 years there, collecting various awards, including Most Outstanding Major League Prospect of the South Atlantic League in 1993.[4] In 1994 he was honored with the Minor League Player of the Year Award by Baseball America, The Sporting News, USA Today, and Topps/NAPBL after hitting .344 with five home runs, 68 RBIs and 50 stolen bases combined at Triple-A Columbus, Double-A Albany, and Class-A Tampa. He was also named the MVP of the Florida State League. Major League career Jeter connects for a hit against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Early Years (1995–1998) On May 29, 1995, Jeter made his debut in the Major Leagues against the Seattle Mariners in the Kingdome. He got his first major league hit the following day off veteran pitcher Tim Belcher, and started 13 games before being sent back down to the minors. He returned on Opening Day of the 1996 season as the starting shortstop (the first Yankee rookie since Tom Tresh in 1962 to do so) and hit his first major-league home run on that day. Jeter played his way to a successful rookie season, hitting for a .314 batting average, 10 home runs, and 78 runs batted in and subsequently earning Rookie of the Year honors.[5] During the 1996 American League Championship Series, Jeter was involved in what has become a memorable moment in postseason history. During game one, with the Yankees trailing the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in the 8th inning, Jeter hit a fly ball to right field. As right fielder Tony Tarasco moved to make a play on the ball near the fence, appearing to have a chance to catch the ball, 12 year old Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and caught the ball, pulling it back into the stands. Despite Tarasco's protest, the umpires convened and ruled the ball a home run. Replays conclusively showed that had Maier not interfered, the ball would have fallen in front of the fence and potentially into Tarasco's glove for an out. The Yankees would go on to win in 11 innings, and eventually the series, 4 games to 1. The ruling made for the first home run of Jeter's postseason career.[6] Jeter making one of his trademark plays against the Tampa Bay Rays. 100 Runs Batted In and Mr. November (1999–2003) In the year 1999 Jeter led the AL in hits (219), and was 2nd in the league in batting average (.349) and runs (134). Jeter (who batted 3rd in the lineup part of the year) also drove in 102 runs, becoming only the 2nd Yankee shortstop ever to do so (Lyn Lary had driven in 107 runs in 1931).[5] In 2000, Jeter became the first player ever to win the All-Star Game MVP award and the World Series MVP Award in the same year. Jeter became the first Yankee since Yogi Berra, in 1959, to hit a home run in the All Star Game (Alfonso Soriano then hit one in 2001).[5] Jeter has made a series of plays both in the field, especially in the 2001 postseason. Perhaps the most memorable took place in Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series vs. the Oakland Athletics. With Jeremy Giambi on first base, Oakland right fielder Terrence Long hit a double off Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina into the right-field corner. As Giambi rounded third and headed for home, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and made a wild throw intended for Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. Instead, the errant throw missed cutoff man Tino Martinez and dribbled up the first base line. Jeter came out of nowhere to grab the ball and flip it to Posada, who tagged Giambi on the leg just before he crossed home plate for the out. Facing elimination, the Yankees went on to win the game, as well as the series. FOX announcer Thom Brennaman's call of the play is as follows: "That is fair, down the right field line. Giambi on his way to third, and they're gonna wave him around! The throw misses the cutoff man—shovel to the plate! Out at the plate! Derek Jeter with one of the most unbelievable plays you will ever see by a shortstop![7] The play was later voted #7 in Baseball Weekly's 10 Most Amazing Plays of all time.[8] After the September 11th terrorist attacks, the baseball season was put on hold. Because of this, the playoffs started later, and Game 4 of the 2001 World Series was played on October 31. The game went into the tenth inning tied at 3–3. At midnight, the scoreboard in center field read "Attention Fans, Welcome to NOVEMBER BASEBALL." This was the first time that any non-exhibition baseball game had been played in the month of November.[9] Moments after this message was displayed on the board, Jeter sent a 3–2 pitch from Byung-Hyun Kim over the right field stands. A fan in the stands held up a sign with the words "Mr. November." Michael Kay, who called the walkoff home run, called Jeter by this name, referencing the sign. Despite the nickname, Jeter was 3 for 12 (.250) in November baseball that season, as the Yankees lost the World Series in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Captain of the Yankees (2003–present) In 2003, Jeter started the season by dislocating his left shoulder on opening day at the SkyDome in Toronto. With Jeter on first base and Jason Giambi at bat, Toronto used an extreme shift that left third base uncovered. Giambi hit a soft grounder to the pitcher, Roy Halladay, who threw to first baseman Carlos Delgado for an out. Jeter, seeing Toronto out of position, rounded second and ran to third. Toronto catcher Ken Huckaby ran up the line to cover third and fielded Delgado's throw. Jeter dived headfirst into the bag, while Huckaby attempted to catch the baseball and block Jeter from reaching third. In doing so, Huckaby fell onto Jeter, his shin guard driving into his shoulder.[10] Jeter's shoulder popped out the front of the socket, and Yankee trainers and Blue Jay doctors tried to pop it back. After unsuccessfully attempting to reset his shoulder in the socket, Jeter was taken to the Yankees' clubhouse, where his shoulder was put back in place. Jeter, who had never played fewer than 148 games in the prior seven full seasons, was subsequently on the disabled list for six weeks, missing 36 games.[11] However, he still led the major leagues in batting average on balls in play that year (.380).[12] Reaction of Yankee players, including Jeter, were highly critical of Huckaby's play, believing that Huckaby, a marginal player, had foolishly jeopardized the All-star shortstop's season. Willie Randolph, who was the Yankees' third-base coach, called Huckaby's play "unnecessary," while Enrique Wilson described it as a "dirty play."[13] Jeter was unsupportive of Huckaby, demurring when asked whether the play was dirty by ambiguously saying, "I don't know, it's tough." Jeter's perception of Huckaby's play became clear when Huckaby reported that Jeter was unresponsive to his apology. "He stonefaced me," Huckaby said. "He just stared at me. He didn't say one word."[14] On June 3 in Cincinnati, Jeter was named the 10th Captain in Yankees history.[15] Jeter waiting on deck in the 2008 season opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1, 2008The New York Yankees named Jeter the 11th recognized captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003, after 8 years without one (Dispute over the true count was noted in a lengthy article in the New York Times on March 25, 2007, by Vincent M. Mallozzi).[16] Jeter became the first official captain of the team since Don Mattingly retired in 1995. His contract, which has a total value of $189,000,000 is the 3rd largest contract in baseball history, behind two contracts of Alex Rodriguez. The beginning of the 2004 season saw Jeter mired in a slump; on May 25, he was hitting only .189. This included a personal career record 0-for-32 skid in April. In June, however, Jeter broke out of his slump. He hit nearly .400 for the month and set a personal best with 9 home runs. He finished the season with a .292 average and 23 home runs, the 2nd most of his career, as well as 44 doubles.[5] During a July 1, 2004, game against the rival Boston Red Sox, Jeter made a play which has helped perpetuate the perception of him as a clutch player. In the top of the 12th inning, with the score tied at 3, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with 2 outs and right fielder Trot Nixon up at bat. Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortshop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. In dramatic fashion he launched himself over the third base side railing, landing three rows into the left field seats, and lacerating his chin and bruising his face in the process. Jeter was later taken out of the game. This catch ended the inning and later the Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning.[17] The "Dive" was awarded Play Of The Year in the This Year In Baseball awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com. The play is also currently seen during the introduction of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. The question surrounding this play is whether the ball would have landed in fair territory. If the ball was fair and not caught, Nixon would have driven in two runs to put the Red Sox up 5-3. If the ball had landed foul, it simply would have been a strike. Either way, the play ended the inning, and helped the Yankees win. The third base umpire, Fieldin Culbreth, called it a fair ball. Derek Jeter against the Colorado RockiesIn 2005 he was 2nd in the AL in runs (122) and batting average on balls in play (.394),[18] and 3rd in the league in at bats (654) and hits (202). In 2006 Jeter led the major leagues in highest groundball/flyball ratio (3.23; 313/97) and batting average on balls in play (.394),[19] and tied for the American League lead in steals of third base (12). He was 2nd in the league in batting average (.343) and runs scored (118), 3rd in hits (214), SB success % (87.2), and batting average with runners in scoring position (.381), and 5th in infield hits (26).[20] He finished 2nd in American League MVP voting to Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins (320 points to 306 points). Jeter has finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting 6 times in his 11 full seasons through 2006 (including also a 3rd place finish in 1998). As of August 25, 2007, Derek was named the Face of the Yankees by staff and fan voters on ESPN.com. One day before the Yankees completed what was thought of as an improbable comeback by winning a playoff spot on September 26, Jeter reached 200 hits for the 6th season, and the third consecutive, tying former Yankee great Lou Gehrig. In 2007, Jeter was 3rd in the AL in hits (203), 4th in at bats (639) and plate appearances (714), 6th in times on base (276), 7th in hit by pitch (14), and 9th in batting average (.322).[5] He also was involved in a career-high 104 double plays, and his 4.02 range factor was the lowest of all AL shortstops, and his .765 zone rating was the lowest among all major league shortstops. 2008 was a sub-par offensive year for Jeter. His slugging percentage was .410, his lowest since 1997. Some theorized that one possible cause for the slump was a May 20 game that saw Jeter get hit by a pitch on his wrist.[21] Before the injury, Jeter was hitting .324 with a .774 OPS. After the injury, his batting average dipped as low as .269 by the end of the month. His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1. Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop, batting in the 2-hole and going 1-for-3. Derek tied the "Iron Horse" Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008. On September 16 he went on to break the record off of the Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd.