Derek Jeter Memorabilia Buying Guide
Posted by Adam Bierenbaum on August 18th, 2011
In Professional sports, there are few players that are as accomplished as Derek Jeter both on and off the field. From an early age, Jeter showed that he had all the makings of a baseball great. In his senior year at Kalamazoo Central High School, he won several national sports awards. He was named the 1992 High School Player of the Year by the American High School Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year, and USA Today’s High School Player of the Year.
After graduating from high school, Jeter was selected by the New York Yankees in the 1992 draft. In 1994 he was named minor league player of the year by several publications including “The Sporting News” and “ Baseball America”
In 1995, Jeter got his first shot at the major leagues when Yankees shortstop Tony Fernandez was put on the disabled list. Jeter made his debut on May 29 against the Seattle Mariners, where he would record his first major league hit. The next year, in his first full season as a major league baseball player, he batted .314 with 10 home runs. The skilled shortstop also performed well in the infield-his fielding percentage was .969. He helped the Yankees win the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. Jeter won the 1996 American League Rookie of the Year Award for that season.
Jeter has been an outstanding player in the major leagues since his rookie season. He helped the Yankees with more World Series wins in 1998, 1999, and 2000, and 2009. In 2000, Jeter was named Most Valuable Player in the World Series and the All-Star Game. He also received Gold Glove Awards in 2004 and in 2005 for his performance on the field. So far Jeter has a career battling average of .313 and average fielding percentage of .977. He has also joined the ranks of players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Thurman Munson, and Don Mattingly, as one of only 11 captains in Yankees History. In 2009, Jeter passed Lou Gehrig’s record with this 2,722nd hit — the most in franchise history. Then on July 8 2011, Jeter became the first player in the Yankees storied history and only the 28th player in Major League History to reach the 3,000 hit milestone.
Jeter is also a very accomplished person off the field. He has used his celebrity and his prominent position as a sports star to help children. In 1996, he established the Turn 2 Foundation to encourage young people to be healthy and academically successful, to become leaders, and to stay away from drugs and alcohol. The foundation supports and creates programs to achieve these goals.
