He is only twenty-eight years old, yet he has already established himself as one of the best baseball players in the history of Major League Baseball. His name may be compared to other Yankees greats including Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, or Roger Maris. This native of Kalamazoo, Michigan is also one of the most attractive and famous celebrities of our time. His name is Derek Jeter. .
Derek Sanderson Jeter was born on June 26, 1974 in Pequannock, New Jersey. He graduated in 1992 from Kalamazoo Central High School, where he hit .508 (30-59) with 4 HR, 23 RBI, 21 BB and 1 K in 23 games as a senior. He was 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts, and had a .831 slugging percentage and a .637 on-base percentage. He hit .557 with 7 HR as a junior. Jeter worked as a tutor in a computer laboratory in his last two years of high school at Kalamazoo Central, and Sally Padley, who taught Jeter in British literature, thought he conducted himself perfectly. Jeter instead chose to sign with the Yankees after being drafted his senior year when The American Baseball Coaches Association named him 1992 High School Player-of-the-Year. In 1996 he helped formed to support the Turn 2 Foundation it create activities and programs designed to prevent and treat teenage substance abuse. He was the recipient of the Joan Payson Award for community service in 1997, presented annually by the New York chapter of the BBWAA. Derek received the New York Press Photographers' annual "Good Guy" Award for 1998. He was the recipient of the Joe DiMaggio "Toast of the Town" Award in 1999, presented annually by the New York Chapter of the BBWAA. He was signed by Dick Groch.
In 1998, now 24, he was named to his first All Star team. Derek was Solid in the field and dangerous at the plate, Jeter developed more muscle power by 1999. As the Yankees won their second straight Series title and third in four years, Jeter hit .348 but also belted a career high 24 homers, 102 RBI and a slugging percentage of .
