Opponents Agree: Jeter Plays the Right Way

By TYLER KEPNER
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
September 11, 2009

Somebody made the point recently — I wish I remembered who — that if you think the news media fawns over Derek Jeter, just listen to his fellow players. There is nobody in baseball more respected than Jeter. He plays the game extraordinarily well, as evidenced by his 2,721 hits, tied with Lou Gehrig for the Yankees’ record. But he also plays it right.

When the All-Star Game lasted 15 innings in July 2008 at Yankee Stadium, who stayed until the end, hugging Justin Morneau and Michael Young and all his other teammates-for-a-day? Other players left the ballpark; Jeter stayed. When Major League Baseball needed one player to show up for a World Baseball Classic news conference at the winter meetings last December, representing the United States, whom did they ask? Jeter.

There are countless other examples, including one Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. After tying Gehrig’s record, Jeter wanted to respond to the fans’ standing ovation. But he was acutely aware that the Rays, not the Yankees, were winning the game. He took his cue from the opposing bench.

“I did not want to disrespect them when I was at first base,” Jeter said. “I appreciated what the fans did and I wanted to acknowledge them. I still felt kind of awkward because I didn’t want to do anything that would upset them. When I saw them giving me an ovation, that is something I will definitely appreciate for a long time.”

Joe Maddon, the manager of the Rays, admitted in defeat that he was “very happy” for Jeter.
“I got a chance to know him a little bit at the All-Star Game, and he is a nice man,” Maddon said. “He carries himself in a manner that’s worthy of passing Gehrig. One thing that I especially love about him is that if he hits a ground ball to short, it’s always a bang-bang play at first, no matter what. He is always hustling.”

An article about Jeter’s feat on mlb.com closes with an anecdote from the Angels’ Howie Kendrick, reflecting on an encounter with Jeter early in Kendrick’s career:

“I remember facing Mike Mussina in New York. I stayed on a cutter and hit it to right field for a base hit. He said: ‘Nice swing. Not a lot of hitters would have stayed that long on that one.’ Coming from him, something like that means a lot to a guy.

“I can’t tell you how much I admire Derek Jeter, everything about him. He’s a symbol of everything that’s right about the game, as far as I’m concerned. He’s a great role model for other players. When I tell my kids or grandkids about the great players from my time, I’ll be proud to say I was on the same field with Derek Jeter.”