Jeter establishes the Turn 2 Foundation, an organization devoted to helping
young adults steer clear of drugs and alcohol. He asks his father to leave
private practice to become the foundation's executive director. Said the elder
Jeter of his move, "I'm impacting more people this
way."
January
1997
Jeter and teammate Bernie Williams appear as guest stars on the TV sitcom
Seinfeld. "I had two lines and Bernie only got one," brags
Derek.
March
1998
Derek dates a diva. Reports during spring training link Jeter to singer Mariah
Carey. The romance allegedly began the previous fall but was kept under wraps
because Carey was still married to Sony Records executive Tommy Mottola. The
relationship doesn't survive the regular
season.
August
1998
Jeter signs a one-year deal with Skippy peanut butter, becoming the first
athlete to endorse the
brand.
September
1998
Derek appears on the cover of GQ magazine. "I have the greatest job
in the world," Jeter says in the accompanying article. "Only one
person can have it. You have shortstops on other teams -- I'm not knocking other
teams -- but there's only one shortstop on the
Yankees."
October
1998
Jeter wins his second World Series as a member of what some call the greatest
Yankees team of all time. The Bombers, who won 114 regular-season games, swept
the San Diego Padres as Jeter hit
.353.
April
1999
Michael Jordan hand-picks Derek to represent his line of Nike sports apparel.
"He's legit," said His Airness of Jeter. "He's versatile; you see
him on the cover of GQ, then the next week he's on the cover of Sports
Illustrated. He's focused; he works hard. I'm proud of him, I'm glad we're
working
together."
July 16,
1999
Upon arriving at Yankee Stadium for batting practice, Derek is bombarded by the
media. He's hounded with questions about radio reports that he'd been shot and
rushed to the hospital. Says Jeter, "I was asleep today, man. I didn't get
up until 1 o'clock. I wasn't shot today, as far as I know....I better call my
mom,
huh?"
September
1999
A new breakfast of champions: Jeter's eponymous brand of frosted flake breakfast
cereal is introduced. We know he's good at the plate -- how good he is in a
bowl?
October
1999
With a .349 batting average, Jeter finishes second in the AL batting race to
Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra. En route to his third World
Championship ring in four years, Derek says,"I'm doing something that I've
wanted to do for as long as I could remember. That's play shortstop for the
Yankees, go to the World Series and win championships."
January
2000
After four seasons, the Yankees' star shortstop has to his credit a .318 batting
average and 486 runs scored, prompting team owner George Steinbrenner to begin
negotiations that could make Jeter one of the highest-paid athletes in sports.
The sides try to hammer out a seven-year contract rumored to be in the
neighborhood of $118.5 million.
February 3,
2000
The Yankees and Jeter avoid salary arbitration and agree to a one-year deal
worth $10 million, doubling his salary from the previous year. "I'd like to
sign long-term, but it's not up to me. It's up to the team," remarks
Jeter.
April 28,
2000
Going 2-for-3 in a Yankees' 6-0 defeat of Toronto, Jeter reaches base in 20 of
the season's first 21 games, hitting safely in 18 of
them.
May 27,
2000
Jeter returns from a stint on the 15-day disabled list (strained left abdominal
muscle) to go 3-for-4 as the Yankees beat Boston,
8-3.
July 11,
2000
Derek becomes the first-ever Yankee to be named MVP of the Major League All Star
Game after going 3-for-3 with one run and two RBIs in a 6-3 American League
victory at Turner Field in Atlanta.
September/October
2000
Jeter is the Yankees' top hitter in September/October. In that span, he bats a
scorching .406 with three homers and 12 RBIs.
September 25,
2000
With a fifth-inning single, the 26-year-old Jeter becomes the second-youngest
Yankee to record his 1,000th career hit. Mickey Mantle achieved the feat in 1957
at age
25.
September 29,
2000
A Yankees squad that dropped 15 of its final 18 regular season games clinches
the AL East title after the Red Sox lose to the Devil Rays and Jeter is ensured
a fifth consecutive postseason
appearance.
September 30,
2000
The Bombers lose 9-1 to Baltimore, but not before Jeter smashes a fourth-inning
single to join Lou Gehrig and Don Mattingly as the only Yankees to have
three-consecutive 200-hit
seasons.
October 8,
2000
The Yankees defeat the A's in a five-game American League Division Series.
"A lot of people were trying to say that our run was over, but you're not
going to beat us that easily," Jeter said after the decisive game.
"We're still the champs until someone beats us."
October 26,
2000
Jeter earns the World Series MVP award as the Yankees defeat the New York Mets, four games to one, in the Subway Series. The four-time World Series champion becomes the first player ever to earn All-Star game MVP and World Series MVP honors in the same season. Jeter also becomes the first shortstop in history to homer in back-to-back World Series games. He batted .409 (9-for-22) with two home runs and six runs scored in the five games. "This kid, right now -- the tougher the situation, the more fire gets in his eyes," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "You don't teach that. It's something you have to be born with." .
December 11, 2000
Jeter's memorable year ends with another accolade. He is presented with the Sports Illustrated award for outstanding baseball achievement at the Sportsman of the Year TV show.
February 9, 2001
Jeter takes a big step toward fulfilling his desire to be a Yankee for life. He becomes the second-highest paid player in major league history, signing a 10-year, $189 million contract with New York.
July 10, 2001
After being selected to the All-Star Game for the fourth straight season, Jeter became the first Yankee to hit a home run in the midsummer classic since Yogi Berra went deep on Aug. 3, 1959 at Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum. "It's been a while, huh?" asked Jeter. "You would think with all the tradition and as many Yankee [All-Stars] over the decades, you think it would have happened. I guess you have to be in the right situation."
October 16, 2001
Jeter's legend continues to grow as the Yankees defeat the Oakland A's in the
ALDS and become the first team ever to win a best-of-five series after losing
the first two games at home. In pivotal Game 3, Jeter makes an unbelievable
play, cutting off a relay throw from the outfield and backhanding the ball to
catcher Jorge Posada, who tags out the runner at the plate to preserve a 1-0
Yankees victory. In Game 5, Jeter sacrifices his body, falling into the stands
along the third base line to catch a popup and help the Yanks hang on to win, 5-
3. For the series, Jeter bats .444, notching postseason hit No. 87 in the
deciding game to surpass by one the postseason hits record previously held by
Pete Rose.
October 31, 2001
Down two games to one against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series,
Jeter conjures up more postseason magic. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Mr.
Clutch fouls off three two-out, two-strike pitches before sending a solo shot
into the right-field seats to snap a 3-3 tie. The first walk-off homer of his
career and the twelfth in World Series history triggers Jeter's new nickname:
Mr. November.
April 1, 2002
Jeter finds a bright spot in
the Yanks' Opening Day loss to the Orioles by reaching two milestones with an
eighth-inning round-tripper -- the homer is the 100th of his career and his
1,200th hit.
Photographs by, NBC/AP, Lional Cironneau/AP, Ronald C. Modra, Chuck Solomon, John Iacono, Chuck Solomon, Ronald C. Modra, V.J. Lovero, Ted Menzies, V.J. Lovero
