Derek Jeter: The Captain

This story originally aired on Sep. 25, 2005.

At a time when the reputation of professional sports has been tarnished by stories of spoiled and troubled athletes, of steroids and bad behavior, we have a story about an athlete who sets the standard for excellence and sportsmanship, on and off the field. 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley profiles Derek Jeter.

At 32, Jeter has already led the Yankees to four World Series wins, and has guided them to the playoffs for each of the past ten years.

Can he do it again? With the All-Star game set for this week - signaling the mid-point of the season - the Yankees are well-positioned to make another bid for the title. As 60 Minutes first reported last September, Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter believes that anything short of winning it all is unacceptable.

Jeter loves his job. "It's a blast!" he says. "When you win it's fun. When you lose, it's magnified."

Derek Jeter's uncanny ability to make the big play - especially when the game or the season is on the line – has defined his ten years with the Yankees.

He does it with his bat and his glove, catching the uncatchable, surmounting obstacles with his trademark combination of nonchalance and relentlessness. No play says more about Jeter than the now legendary diving catch he made last year in which he placed his body - not to mention his $20 million salary — at risk.

Recalling that wild dive into the stands, Jeter says, "You know, the thing is, in 2001, I fell in the stands in the same area, but it was in the photographers' pit, which is all cement, and it didn't feel too good. So, when I was catching that ball, I knew I was going to fall in the stands because I was too close, but I figured if I jump over the photographers' pit maybe I'll run into someone and feel a little bit better…" Unluckily for Jeter, no one was there to cushion his fall. "Fifty-seven thousand people and I picked the seat that no one was in," he says with a laugh. "So that didn't feel too good either."

Jeter emerged from the stands bloodied and beaten up. After a trip to the hospital, and seven stitches in his chin, he insisted on playing the following day, and he did.

He's had this passion for baseball since the age of six, when he told his parents that he would one day play shortstop for the New York Yankees: "I was born in New Jersey, grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan," he says. "And I'm going around telling everyone I'm gonna play for the New York Yankees. And I think a lot people, a lot of parents, maybe, would tell their kids, 'put some real thoughts in your head.'"

Jeter's parents Charles and Dorothy are his most devoted fans. Dorothy is an accountant, and Charles, a former college shortstop, is now a clinical social worker. Derek never starts a game until he finds where his parents are seated. It's a habit he has had since Little League. And as soon as he spots his mom, he says hi.

"We communicate," says Dorothy Jeter. "Sometimes, you know, he'll just stick up his head and go like that," she says, glancing up. "It means he's going to try to hit a home run. I shouldn't give that away, should I?"

We asked Charles Jeter if his son reminds him of himself at shortstop. "Yeah, a little bit, you know," he says, adding with a laugh, "Doesn't have the defensive abilities I had, but...."

His son attributes his own competitive nature to his father. "It's his fault," he jokingly insists. "He used to beat me at everything we played. I remember I was going to afternoon kindergarten and we used to watch The Price Is Right. Now, I'm five years old. And he used to beat me at the Showcase Showdown and send me to school."

He claims his father enjoyed beating a five-year-old at a game. "It made him feel good," he says. "You know, he'd win and send me on my way!"

Charles Jeter responds that his game-playing had a purpose: "Just teach him to be competitive, and nobody's going to let you win anything. It's not going to be fair all the time."

And Derek got the message: "I think the lesson was, 'Things don't come easy. You're going to have to work at it.'"

And work at it he did. Every year from the time he was a kid until he graduated high school, Derek had to sign a contract drawn up by his father. He would be permitted to play baseball only if he complied with all 18 clauses, including "no arguing," "no alcohol and drugs," and "respect girls."

What happened if he violated one of the clauses in the contract? "I didn't," Jeter insists. "I was pretty good. I was always afraid of disappointing my parents."

So, who does he think was tougher to negotiate with when it came to a contract, his father or George Steinbrenner? "The Boss," says Jeter, "is definitely harder to deal with."

Yankee boss and owner George Steinbrenner chose Derek Jeter right out of high school as his number one draft pick in 1992, and paid him $800,000. As a lonesome 18-year-old kid who had never been away from home, Jeter didn't get off to a flying start. He made 56 errors in his first minor league season.

"Fifty-six," Jeter recalls. "I was actually at shortstop two weeks into the season saying - it's a true story - 'Maybe they won't hit me another ball the rest of the year.' Sure enough, they hit the next one to me and I missed it."

So, how did he get from there to here? "A lot of work," Jeter says. "I work extremely hard. I like to be involved. I like to be in the middle of things, and I'm not afraid to fail."

Yankee Manager Joe Torre and Derek Jeter started their careers on the team together in 1996, and he says Jeter "handles the stress of this game as well as anybody."

But Jeter still calls him Mr. Torre, out of respect for someone he considers almost a second father.

"I think he's shortened it to 'Mr. T' now. We're getting there," Torre says.

Along the way, Derek Jeter has learned some tough lessons, as the son of an African-American father and an Irish-American mother. He and his younger sister, Sharlee, were teased and taunted as kids for being bi-racial. Jeter says it continued even after he had been drafted number #1 by the Yankees and returned to Kalamazoo for a homecoming celebration.

"It was disappointing because I was very proud of the fact of what I was able to do, you know, I am living my dream," he says. "Come back, see my friends for the first time, and… you still had to deal with ignorance."

It wasn't the first time he had had the "n" word thrown at him. But he remembers it, he says, "just because of the moment... It's just – I was so proud – It was just the first day back home."

He has not heard that word from the stands as a Yankees star. Early on, he thinks it may have been "people didn't know what race I was. Most people thought I was Spanish, so I'd go up to hit and be on deck and people'd be speaking Spanish to me. I had no idea what they were saying!"

But these days, Derek Jeter is treated like royalty by the fans. And he treats them as if he truly appreciates their adulation.

In a city usually unfazed by celebrities, Jeter is hardly able to walk the streets of New York without being mobbed. In the time it takes him to order a java chip frappucino, Jeter poses for eight photos snapped by owners of camera phones, shakes five hands and signs seven autographs, never losing his gracious manner.

Nevertheless, Jeter admits he's been wary of people since he was a kid. "I wish I trusted people more," he says. "But when I meet someone, the first thing is, 'What does this person want?' And I put up a defense mechanism. But I've always been that way."

But when he is not playing baseball, Derek Jeter is still a player - one of the most eligible bachelors in New York. He's dated singer Mariah Carey, a Miss Universe and an assortment of models and actresses. But he says he has yet to find "Ms. Right." And that's about all he has to say on that subject, although his parents hint – and he agrees – that he probably will settle down "sooner than later."

Meanwhile, Derek Jeter shows up in fashion spreads and the gossip columns almost as often as the sports pages. And while he enjoys the nightlife, that has gotten him into some hot water with his boss, George Steinbrenner.

"The Boss" has been mostly complimentary about Derek throughout his career, except for one flap three years ago, when he found out that Jeter had been out late to a birthday party. Steinbrenner suggested that Jeter "better pay more attention to the ball game than he does the women."

They later made a comic Visa commercial together, poking fun at the resulting spat. Not that either has given way.

"But it's during the season, see," insists Steinbrenner. "And I want him completely devoted to the team during the season."

"He's told me that every year I've been there for the last ten years," Jeter says.

But he denies that criticism from Steinbrenner motivates him. "I don't need any extra motivation," Jeter says. "My motivation is to win."

And win fairly. Baseball has been rocked in recent years by allegations of steroid abuse by some of its biggest stars, including Jeter's teammate Jason Giambi. While Jeter condemns steroid use and runs a foundation committed to steering kids away from drugs, he stands firmly by his fellow Yankee.

People make mistakes, he reasons, and "That doesn't mean you run away from them. And, you know, Jason goes out of his way to support everyone else, whether he's going good or going bad. So he's an easy person to root for and support."

Derek Jeter fields uncomfortable questions as artfully as he fields tough ground balls. The only place he's comfortable causing a stir is on the field. The rookie of the year at age 22, who is now destined for the Hall of Fame, has "mastered the game." His eye is always on the ball.

His family, teammates and friends agree that Derek Jeter has his priorities straight. What does he think they mean by that? "I know how I want to treat people," he replies. "I know how I want to be treated. And I enjoy life. You know, you've got to have fun. And I have fun every single day, and the number one priority is to be a good person, and I've always tried to be that."