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Historic honor Jeter becomes first Yankee to earn All-Star MVP award
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- The New York Yankees compiled 25 World Series trophies before getting their hands on one All-Star MVP award. Derek Jeter brought an end to the Yankees' All-Star MVP drought with a 3-for-3 night that included hits off Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown and Al Leiter. Jeter's double off Johnson was the AL's first extra-base hit in two years. His two-run single off Leiter in the fourth inning gave the AL a 3-1 lead en route to a 6-3 victory. And he wasn't even supposed to start. "You have to play for a lot of years before you can be considered a Yankee great," Jeter said. "I've only played four years. This is my fifth. Hopefully, I can play for a few more years, then start that debate." Still, he's not ready to be ranked alongside Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and Berra -- even after his bat was sent straight to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. "When you mention his name, you got to think of the Yankees," said AL manager Joe Torre, also Jeter's manager in New York. "If there ever was a young kid that even the veteran players looked to, it's Derek Jeter. So I think it's a very, very proud time for the New York Yankees, because their future did a great thing tonight." Just 26, he already has three World Series rings in four seasons, three All-Star appearances and the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year Award. And now this. "I think if he played here, he'd be the first player to hit .500," said Atlanta's Chipper Jones, who also went 3-for-3. "It's good to see no one else in the National League can get him out either." Just last Friday, Jeter got a two-strike, first-inning single off Leiter, scoring the first run in the Yankees' 2-1 win over their crosstown foe -- a rivalry that turned bitter the next night when the Yankees' Roger Clemens beaned Mike Piazza to knock him out of the All-Star Game. Jeter hit .407 against the Mets this year, going 11-for-27 with six runs scored and is a .327 hitter (25-for-77) against them in his career. The single off Leiter came on a first-pitch cut fastball. "He does it every time I face him. I try to lay off it," Jeter said. "I didn't hit it well; I just hit it in the right place." Leiter didn't have any thoughts of brushing Jeter back in retaliation for Clemens' pitch. "Jeter didn't do anything," Leiter said. Well, neither did Piazza. "He was just the recipient," Leiter replied. Jeter wasn't thinking about the Yankees-Mets rivalry. "It really had nothing to do with Al Leiter. Nothing special with that," Jeter said. "You don't say, 'Here's a Met. I want to get a hit off him.'" In his previous two All-Star at-bats, he struck out both times. Getting the start because Seattle's Alex Rodriguez sustained a concussion last weekend, Jeter wanted to swing at first pitches and not fall behind. Like everything else in his charmed life, he came through. "His priorities are in order," Torre said. "I know he's very proud of it, even though a lot of times he doesn't show much. His head's screwed on right. That's not easy for a youngster who seemingly has this thing going for him." Jeter and the Yankees love playing in Atlanta, winning the first two games of last year's World Series at Turner Field and sweeping three games at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1996 as they overcame a 2-0 deficit to win what turned out to be the first of three Series titles in four years. But it's been a year of struggle for both Jeter, who spent 2 1/2 weeks on the disabled list with an abdominal strain, and the Yankees, who lead the AL East by mere percentage points over second-place Toronto. They hope beating the Mets three times in four games started their turnaround.
"It's not easy to win," Jeter said. "We made it look kind of easy three out of the last four years. But it's very difficult to do year after year."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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