Eligible for salary arbitration for the first time before the 1999 season, Jeter was awarded a $5 million salary. Jeter led the AL in hits that season with 219, while finishing second in the league in batting average (.349) and runs scored (134), appearing in his second All-Star game that year. His season totals in batting average, runs, hits, runs batted in, doubles (37), triples (9), home runs (24), SLG (.552), and OBP (.438) are all personal bests. Jeter, who for part of the year hit third in the batting order, also drove in 102 runs, becoming only the second Yankee shortstop to do so, following Lyn Lary's 107 RBIs in 1931. In the postseason, Jeter batted .455 in the ALDS, .350 in the ALCS, and .353 in the World Series, as the Yankees defeated the Braves to win another championship, Jeter's third.
Jeter made the All-Star team and finished the season with a .292 average; 23 home runs, the second-most of his career; 78 RBIs; 111 runs scored; and a career-best 44 doubles, which broke the Yankee single-season record for doubles by a shortstop, besting Tony Kubek's 38 in 1961. He batted .316 with a team-leading four RBIs as the Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in the 2004 ALDS. Jeter struggled in the 2004 ALCS, batting .200 with one extra base hit, as the Yankees lost the series to the Red Sox in seven games, despite winning the first three games.
Rated the sixth-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America heading into the 1996 season, Jeter started on Opening Day, the first Yankee rookie to start as shortstop for the team since Tom Tresh in 1962. He hit his first MLB home run that day. With his speed and ability to execute the hit and run, Jeter served as a complement to leadoff hitter Tim Raines while batting in the ninth spot in the batting order. By year's end Jeter far exceeded Torre's expectations – and anyone's – hitting .314 with 10 home runs, 104 runs scored, and 78 RBIs. He was named the unanimous AL Rookie of the Year, receiving all 28 first-place votes in only the fifth sweep in the honor's 50-year history.
Derek Sanderson Jeter (/ˈdʒiːtər/ JEE-tər; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2020; he received 396 of 397 possible votes (99.75%), the second-highest percentage in MLB history (behind only teammate Mariano Rivera) and the highest by a position player. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) and part owner of the league's Miami Marlins from September 2017 to February 2022.
Jeter was born on June 26, 1974, in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, the son of accountant Dorothy (née Connors) and substance abuse counselor Sanderson Charles Jeter. His mother is of English, German, and Irish ancestry, while his father is African-American. They met while serving in the United States Army in Germany. His father played baseball at Fisk University in Tennessee as a shortstop, and holds a PhD. When Jeter was a child, his parents made him sign a contract every year that defined acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior. Dorothy instilled a positive attitude in her son, insisting that he not use the word "can't". It was a baseball family, and Jeter's younger sister Sharlee (born c. 1979) was a softball star in high school.
The Yankees drafted Jeter out of high school in 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues at age 20 in 1995. The following year, he became the Yankees' starting shortstop, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series over the Atlanta Braves. Jeter continued to excel during the team's championship seasons of 1998–2000; he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. He consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for most of his career, and served as the Yankees' team captain from 2003 until his retirement in 2014. Throughout his career, Jeter contributed reliably to the Yankees' franchise successes. He holds many postseason records, and has a .321 batting average in the World Series. Jeter has earned the nicknames "Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November" due to his outstanding play in the postseason.
Jeter focused the next offseason on his fielding. Baseball America rated Jeter among the top 100 prospects in baseball before the 1993 season, ranking him 44th. Returning to the Hornets in 1993, his first full season of professional baseball, Jeter hit .295 with five home runs, 71 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases; SAL managers voted him the "Most Outstanding Major League Prospect" in the league. He finished second in the SAL in triples (11), third in hits (152), and 11th in batting average, and was named to the postseason All-Star team. Jeter committed 56 errors, a SAL record. Despite this, he was named the SAL's Best Defensive Shortstop, Most Exciting Player, and Best Infield Arm by Baseball America.
Jeter has owned homes in Marlboro Township, New Jersey; Greenwood Lake, New York; and the Davis Islands neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. He previously owned a penthouse apartment in Manhattan's Trump World Tower. Jeter settled a tax dispute regarding his official residence with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in 2008. New York State alleged that Jeter should have paid state income tax from 2001 to 2003, as Jeter resided in the Manhattan apartment he bought in 2001; Jeter claimed to have established his residence in Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1994, and that he was still a resident of Florida at the time. Florida has no state income tax. As of 2020 , Jeter and his wife (the former model Hannah Davis) reside in Miami. In September 2020, the couple listed their waterfront Tampa home for $29 million. They subsequently listed their Greenwood Lake home in March 2021.
After Fernández batted a disappointing .245 and appeared in only 108 games due to injuries in 1995, newly hired Yankees manager Joe Torre turned to Jeter for the 1996 season, hoping for a .250 batting average and dependable defense. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, often skeptical of younger players, was unconvinced. After Clyde King, a close Steinbrenner advisor, observed Jeter for two days in spring training in 1996, he came away with the impression that Jeter was not yet ready to contribute at the major league level. To provide depth to the team at the shortstop position after an injury to Fernández, Steinbrenner approved a trade that would have sent pitcher Mariano Rivera to the Mariners for shortstop Félix Fermín, but Michael, by then the vice president of scouting, and assistant general manager Brian Cashman convinced Steinbrenner to give Jeter an opportunity.
Early in the 1995 season, Fernández and infielder Pat Kelly were injured. Consequently, Jeter made his MLB debut on May 29, 1995. He was assigned uniform number 2, which was most recently worn by Mike Gallego from 1992 to 1994. Batting ninth, he went hitless in five at bats, striking out once. The following day, he recorded his first two major league hits and scored his first two career runs. Jeter batted .250 and committed two errors in 13 games before being returned to Class AAA Columbus; Fernández replaced Jeter at shortstop. The Yankees advanced to the postseason in 1995. Jeter traveled with the team during the 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS), though he was not on the active roster. The Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners.
Steinbrenner named Jeter the captain of the Yankees on June 3, 2003, following eight seasons without a captain after Don Mattingly retired in 1995. That postseason, Jeter batted .314 with two home runs, five RBIs, and 10 runs scored across 17 playoff games, including three hits in Game 3 of the 2003 World Series against the Florida Marlins – the only three hits Josh Beckett allowed during the game. Jeter committed a crucial error in a Game 6 loss, and the Marlins won the series in six games.
Jeter created the Turn 2 Foundation, a charitable organization, in 1996. It was established to help children and teenagers avoid drug and alcohol addiction, and to reward those who show high academic achievement. In 2012, Jeter received an honorary doctorate from Siena College honoring him for his foundation's work.
Jeter's personal life has been a frequent topic in gossip columns and celebrity magazines since his rookie year in 1996. He had a well-publicized relationship with singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from 1997 to 1998. Carey cowrote the song "The Roof (Back in Time)" about their first kiss. Jeter has also dated model Vida Guerra, former Miss Universe Lara Dutta, singer Joy Enriquez, television personality Vanessa Minnillo, and the actresses Jordana Brewster, Jessica Biel, and Minka Kelly.
Despite continuing concerns about his age, the beginning of the 2012 season saw Jeter on a hot streak: he batted .420 through April 25. Rodriguez commented that Jeter is playing as he did in 1999, while Girardi said Jeter looks like he is 25 years old. In the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, Jeter recorded his 11th All-Star hit, passing Mantle for the most All-Star Game hits in Yankees history. Jeter went 1-for-2 in the game, moving into fourth all-time with a .458 average among players with a minimum of 12 plate appearances in the All-Star Game.
On July 9, 2011, Jeter recorded his 3,000th career hit, a home run off of David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays. Jeter finished the day with five hits in five at-bats, the second player to have five hits on the day he achieved his 3,000th hit (the first was Craig Biggio). He also became the second player to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit, Wade Boggs having done so in 1999. The last of Jeter's five hits proved to be the game-winning hit. He is the only member of the 3,000 hit club to record all of his hits with the New York Yankees. Jeter joined Honus Wagner as only the second regular shortstop to reach the 3,000 hit plateau. Only Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, and Robin Yount were younger than Jeter on the day of their 3,000th hit. MLB and HBO produced Derek Jeter 3K, a documentary that profiled his path to 3,000 hits and originally aired on July 28, 2011.
Jeter committed 18 errors in 2007, his highest total since finishing with 24 in 2000. After the season, Cashman and his staff saw Jeter's defense as an area that needed to be addressed. At the Yankees' request, Jeter embarked on a rigorous training program to combat the effects of age, by focusing on lateral movement and first-step quickness. Jeter's ultimate zone rating (UZR) improved from worst in the AL for shortstops in 2007 to close to league average in 2008.
In 2001, Jeter posted another strong season, batting .311 with 21 home runs, 74 RBIs, 110 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases, making his fourth All-Star appearance. Jeter made a notable defensive assist in Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics. With Jeremy Giambi on first base, Oakland right fielder Terrence Long hit a double off Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina into the right-field corner. As Giambi rounded third base and headed for home plate, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and made a wild throw that missed cut-off man Tino Martinez and dribbled down the first-base line. Jeter ran from shortstop to grab the ball and flipped it backhanded to catcher Jorge Posada, rather than throwing it overhand. Posada tagged Giambi out on the leg just before he crossed home plate, preserving the Yankees' one-run lead. Facing elimination, the Yankees eventually won the game, as well as the series. The play, known as "The Flip", was later voted seventh in Baseball Weekly's 10 Most Amazing Plays of all time, and won the 2002 Best Play ESPY Award.
In December 2002, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner criticized Jeter for staying out until 3 a.m. at a birthday party during the 2002 season, saying that his star shortstop "wasn't totally focused" and that "it didn't sit well" with him. The two mocked the incident in a May 2003 Visa commercial, similar to the manner in which Steinbrenner and former Yankees manager Billy Martin made light of their feud in a Miller Lite commercial during the 1970s.
Kalamazoo Central High School inducted Jeter into its athletic hall of fame in 2003 and renamed its baseball field in his honor in 2011. In 2015, Jeter was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. The Yankees retired Jeter's uniform number and unveiled a plaque in his honor that was installed at Monument Park in a pregame ceremony on May 14, 2017.
In the 12th inning of a tied game on July 1, 2004, against their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, Trot Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortstop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. He launched himself over the third-base side railing and two rows of seats, receiving a lacerated chin and bruised face. The Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning. This was voted the Play of the Year in the This Year in Baseball Awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com. Following the 2004 season, Jeter was presented with his first Gold Glove Award; his diving catch on July 1 was cited as a reason for the award. Though Jeter was fourth among shortstops in fielding percentage and errors, two traditional fielding statistics, critics pointed to his lower ratings in the more advanced sabermetric statistics, such as range factor and ultimate zone rating (UZR).
Jeter was second in the AL in runs scored (122) in the 2005 season, and was third in the league in both at bats (654) and hits (202). Though his critics continued to see Jeter as a liability defensively, he won his second consecutive Gold Glove in 2005. Orlando Cabrera of the Angels had a higher fielding percentage and committed fewer errors, but voters noted that Jeter had more assists. Though Jeter batted .333 during the 2005 ALDS, the Yankees lost to the Angels.
In 2006, Jeter was the second-highest paid endorser in baseball, behind Ichiro Suzuki, who received endorsement deals in Japan. He was ranked as the most marketable player in baseball according to the 2003, 2005, and 2010 Sports Business Surveys. A 2011 list by the marketing firm Nielsen ranked Jeter as the most marketable player in baseball, accounting for personal attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience, and influence.
Jeter hit his 400th career double on June 27, 2008, and his 200th home run on July 12. Jeter's slugging percentage (SLG) dropped to .410 in the 2008 season, his lowest mark since 1997. His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1. Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop. He finished the season with a .300 batting average.
Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's record for hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008. On September 16, he broke the record against Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd. The Yankees were eliminated from postseason contention, the only full season in Jeter's career where he did not compete in the playoffs. Following the final game in Yankee Stadium history, Jeter made a speech at the request of the Yankees, thanking the Yankees fans for their support—a moment later voted by fans as the Moment of the Year in MLB.com's This Year in Baseball Awards:
Jeter achieved two career hit milestones in the second half of the 2009 season. On August 16, 2009, against the Seattle Mariners, Jeter doubled down the right-field line for his 2,675th hit as a shortstop, breaking Luis Aparicio's previous major league record. Then, Jeter became the all-time hits leader as a member of the Yankees (2,722), passing Lou Gehrig on September 11, 2009. The hit was a single off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the third inning.
—Don Zimmer, September 13, 2009
—Curt Schilling, September 14, 2009
Despite this, Jeter's defense was the subject of criticism from a number of sabermetricians, including Rob Neyer and the publication Baseball Prospectus. The 2006 book The Fielding Bible by John Dewan contains an essay by Bill James in which he concluded that Jeter "was probably the most ineffective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position" over his entire career. A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, from 2002 through 2005, Jeter was the worst defensive shortstop in MLB. Two sites that rely on advanced defensive statistics, FanGraphs.com and FieldingBible.com, rated Jeter below middle-of-the-pack status in 2010, despite his receiving his fifth Gold Glove Award that season.
In 2010, Jeter, along with Posada and Rivera, became the first trio of teammates in any of the four major league sports in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL) to play in at least 16 consecutive seasons on the same team as teammates. The 2010 season was statistically Jeter's worst in many respects. The Yankee captain batted .270 with a .340 OBP and .370 SLG, all career lows, as he hit more ground balls than usual. Despite this, Jeter was elected to start at shortstop in the All-Star Game. He rebounded to bat .342 in his last 79 at-bats after making adjustments to his swing with the help of Kevin Long, the Yankees hitting coach, who had successfully helped Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson make adjustments that improved their production. With Long, Jeter changed the way he strode with his left leg. Following the season, Jeter won his fifth Gold Glove award. Jeter committed six errors during the season, his lowest total in 15 full seasons.
Jeter is considered to be one of the most consistent baseball players of all time. He played fewer than 145 games a season only three times in his career: when he dislocated his left shoulder on Opening Day 2003 (119 games), when he injured his calf in 2011 (131 games), and in 2013 when he struggled with a myriad of injuries (17 games). For his career, he averaged 204 hits, 113 runs scored and 21 stolen bases per 162 games. He is currently sixth on the all-time hits list in MLB history. Highly competitive, Jeter once said, "If you're going to play at all, you're out to win. Baseball, board games, playing Jeopardy!, I hate to lose." Jeter has been viewed as one of the best players of his generation.
The adjustments left Jeter frustrated, as he batted .242 in the first month of the 2011 season. As he struggled, it appeared that the 2011 season was the continuation of Jeter's decline. Jeter broke Rickey Henderson's franchise record for stolen bases when he stole his 327th base against the Mariners on May 28, 2011. He suffered a calf injury on June 13 that required his fifth stint on the 15-day disabled list, and his first since 2003. At that point, he was batting .260 for the 2011 season with a .649 OPS. Rehabilitating from his injury in Tampa, Jeter worked on his swing with Denbo, his former minor league manager. With Denbo, Jeter returned to the mechanics he used in his minor league days. Following his activation from the disabled list, he hit .326 with an .806 OPS in his last 64 games of the season. Jeter finished the year with a .297 batting average, six home runs, 61 runs batted in, 84 runs, and 16 stolen bases. He credited the turnaround to his work with Denbo; Long acknowledged that his attempt to adjust Jeter's swing did not work.
Fatigued from the stress of chasing 3,000 career hits and wanting to rest his calf, Jeter opted not to attend the 2011 MLB All-Star Game. Jeter and Posada played their 1,660th game together on July 14, 2011, breaking the previous franchise record of 1,659 by Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri. Jeter played his 2,402nd game with the Yankees on August 29, 2011, breaking Mickey Mantle's record for most games played as a Yankee. He finished the 2011 season with 162 hits, his 16th consecutive season with 150 hits, which tied him with Pete Rose for the second-most consecutive 150-hit seasons, one behind Hank Aaron for the MLB record. Jeter was honored with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, given in recognition of charitable endeavors.
While rehabilitating, Jeter suffered a small crack in the area of his previous ankle fracture. As a result, Jeter began the 2013 season on the disabled list. The Yankees activated Jeter on July 11, but after playing in one game, Jeter returned to the disabled list with a quadriceps strain. He returned to the Yankees lineup on July 28, hitting a home run on the first pitch off of Matt Moore of Tampa Bay. Jeter was again placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 5 due to a Grade 1 calf strain, and after a brief return to the lineup, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list for a third time on September 11 due to problems with his ankle, ending his season. On September 14, 2013, Jeter was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Jeter batted .190 in only 17 games played during the 2013 season.
Jeter also serves as a brand development officer for Luvo Inc. and has investment interests in multi-channel video network company, Whistle Sports Network. He explored purchasing the Buffalo Bills football team in 2014.
Jeter re-signed with the Yankees on a one-year, $12 million contract for the 2014 season. Jeter announced on his Facebook page on February 12, 2014, that the 2014 season would be his last. During his final season, each opposing team honored Jeter with a gift during his final visit to their city, which has included donations to Jeter's charity, the Turn 2 Foundation.
On October 1, 2014, Jeter's new website, ThePlayersTribune.com, appeared online; it was billed as "a new media platform that will present the unfiltered voice of professional athletes, bringing fans closer to the games they love than ever before." It was reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal in March 2015 that Jeter had partnered with Concessions Tampa to bid for a space within the Tampa International Airport, and plans to open a restaurant named after his website.
Jeter and model Hannah Davis, who had been dating since 2012, became engaged in 2015. In July 2016, the two married. They have three daughters, born in August 2017, January 2019, and December 2021, and a son, born in May 2023.
Jeter has appeared on television as a guest actor in the sitcom Seinfeld in the episode titled, "The Abstinence" and Saturday Night Live, a late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show, in episode 7 during season 27. He had cameo appearances in the comedy films Anger Management and The Other Guys. Jeter was the subject of a 2005 segment on the TV news magazine 60 Minutes and a 2014 episode of Finding Your Roots, a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television series. Jeter also appears as a character in the Broadway play Bronx Bombers. Jeter made an appearance alongside Peyton Manning to celebrate Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary in February 2015.
A five-time World Series champion with the Yankees, Jeter is regarded as a central contributor to the franchise's dynasty during the late 1990s and early 2000s for his hitting, base-running, fielding, and leadership. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,465), doubles (544), games played (2,747), stolen bases (358), times on base (4,716), plate appearances (12,602) and at bats (11,195). His accolades include 14 All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and a 2009 Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter was the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits and finished his career ranked sixth in MLB history in career hits and first among shortstops. In 2017, the Yankees retired his uniform number 2.
In July 2017, Jeter engaged in the bidding for ownership of the Miami Marlins. In August 2017, Jeter and Bruce Sherman finalized a deal to purchase the Miami Marlins. The sale was completed in September 2017, following unanimous approval of the other 29 MLB team owners. Though Jeter only owned a 4% stake in the franchise, he was named chief executive officer (CEO) of the team, and Sherman, the controlling owner, entrusted him to oversee day-to-day operations of the team.
In 2018, Jeter donated furniture and household items to families forced to relocate by Hurricane Irma. In July 2019, Jeter donated $3.2 million from the Turn 2 Foundation to the Kalamazoo Public School District to renovate the school's baseball and softball complex.
On January 21, 2020, Jeter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its class of 2020 in his first year of eligibility, only one vote shy of being only the second unanimous selection in Hall of Fame history. His 99.7% of the vote was second only to Mariano Rivera (100%), and ahead of Ken Griffey (99.3%) in the history of Hall of Fame voting. He was formally enshrined in a ceremony on September 8, 2021, in Cooperstown, New York.
Jeter joined the board of Rockefeller Capital Management in April 2021.
On February 28, 2022, Jeter announced that he would no longer serve as CEO of the Marlins or hold any shares in the club. After more than four years as the Miami Marlins' chief executive, he ended the relationship and sold his 4% ownership in the team.
The Captain, a documentary miniseries about Jeter's life and career, debuted on ESPN on July 18, 2022.
On September 8, 2022, Jeter announced that he joined entrepreneur Brian Lee and multiple capital venture firms in launching a card grading, storage vault, and marketplace platform named Arena Club.