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Derek Jeter, even to those who aren't familiar with Major League Baseball, is a celebrity, a role model, and a sports icon, a rarity in this age where stars with questionable talents are made famous through Youtube and reality TV.
As a child, Jeter was greatly interested in sports. His parents had instilled a can-do attitude in their son from an early age. Jeter's grandparents often took him and his sister, a softball star in her high school, to Yankees games, which made him love the sport.
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As a student at Kalamazoo Central High School in Michigan, Jeter excelled at basketball. However, he was driven by a different dream: to play shortstop for his favorite team, the New York Yankees. He played for his school's baseball team and amassed numerous awards, including an All-State honorable mention and USA Today's High School Player of the Year. Jeter's performance in high school baseball and all-star training camp caught the eye of the University of Michigan, which offered him a scholarship to play for the Wolverines, and scouts for the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees. He eventually decided to forego a college education and chose to go pro, signing with the Yankees and debuting in the Major Leagues in 1995. The rest, as they say, is history.
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Much has already been written about Jeter's professional achievements. His lifetime career batting average is 310, and 3,465 hits. While he is not the greatest shortstop of all time, he could easily qualify as the best in his era. Cooperstown, the site of the MLB Hall of Fame, is already preparing for his induction in 2020. At the end of his last game for the Yankees, Jeter directed a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, the fourth player in his age group in Yankee history to have ever done so. After celebrating with his teammates, he looked over at the opposing team and wished them well. It was a fitting end to an incredible career and an apt tribute to a baseball player who was, in many respects, larger than life.
Will McHale is an assistant coach for La Courneuve Flash and a baseball fan. Like this Facebook page for sports news and articles.
