I tried to make Jeter crack, but he didn't

                    

	Derek Jeter will try to steer the Yankees back to the World Series for the first time since 2003. Walter Iooss Jr./SI
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Derek Jeter is uncomfortable. It's not that he minds being in a garage-sized room, tossing around a rubber ball to an overweight technician who's giving him instructions as if he were Joe Torre. He just would rather not be doing it while wearing an unforgivingly tight black wetsuit with little light bulbs on it. "It's hot," Jeter says while pulling at the outfit which covers every inch of his body like a toddler's pajamas. "I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into."

Jeter finds himself in the odd predicament of playing one-on-one baseball dressed like Scuba Steve for a motion capture session for Major League Baseball 2K6, a video game that will be released in March featuring Jeter on its cover. "I wish I actually played video games more than I do," Jeter says. "I'm getting better at it, but I'm no where near where I want to be."

Being a video game novice myself, I wasn't about to challenge Jeter to a battle, especially after being schooled in MLB 2K5, also featuring Jeter on the cover, by my 15-year-old brother, Arman, last week. "Tell Jeter he sucks at getting grounders in his own video game," Arman tells me before I leave to meet Jeter. "I actually get that a lot from fans," Jeter says in response. "We're working on that this year though."

After Jeter finishes the motion capture session, which designers hope will make MLB 2K6 look as realistic as NBA 2K6 does when played on XBOX 360 in high definition, he changes out of the tight costume and into a more comfortable shirt and jeans ensemble, grabs a bottle of water and makes his way into a room filled with reporters. While fans might marvel at the way Jeter can turn a double play, put runners in scoring position or dive into the stands to catch a foul ball, watching Jeter work a room of reporters is almost as impressive. "He's a pro," said one assistant. "He's probably the best there is at dealing [with the press]."

On this day Jeter, who is being whisked from reporter to reporter, each receiving about 3-5-minutes of his time, is at his charming best; putting on a smile, repeating the question he's asked before answering and serving up a quote as canned as Campbell's Soup.

On the Yankees chances next season: "The goal is to win a championship. If we don't win a championship, the season wasn't a success in our minds."

On Johnny Damon coming to the Yankees: "If he does for us what he did against us we'll be fine. I'm excited to have him on the team."

On the World Baseball Classic: "If I get selected it would be a huge honor. We'll see what happens."