Derek Jeter is considered one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball, playing 20 seasons for the New York Yankees before retiring after the 2014 season. Still, fans might not know everything about the All-Star.
Having played in five World Series championships, Jeter is the all-time career leader in hits for the Yankees, and he finished his career as the MLB's leader in hits by a shortstop. He also excelled as a base-stealer and superb fielder.
He drew a lot of attention for his relationships with celebrities during his career, but he remained a top professional in the game as an All-Star and Yankee team captain.
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Here are five things you may not know about Derek Jeter:
1. He predicted he’d be a Yankee — He told his teacher in fourth grade he’d someday become a New York Yankee and even wrote an essay in eighth grade accurately predicting he would become the team’s shortstop, according to USA Today.
2. He didn’t like his number at first — Although Jeter’s No. 2 jersey has been retired by the Yankees, Jeter originally wanted No. 13, he once told ABC News. It was the number his father wore on his winning college team. He didn’t want No. 2 in the beginning until the team offered him No. 17. So he stuck with the fitting No. 2, which precedes Babe Ruth’s No. 3, Lou Gehrig’s 4, and Joe DiMaggio’s 5.
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3. Jeter was in the bathroom when the Yankees called — He was feeling unsettled and wanted to be alone when he wasn’t one of the first five picks on draft day. The phone rang while he was in the bathroom and his mother yelled, “The Yankees are on the phone.”
4. He has gated protection — His nine-bedroom mansion in Tampa has become an attraction to fans and photographers ever since it was completed in 2011. Jeter has to get permission from the city to install an eight-foot-high gate, instead of the limit of four feet, to keep out the paparazzi, The Sportster reported.
5. He started an anti-bullying campaign for athletes — Jeter started an anti-bullying campaign called “Stand Up” on his website, The Players’ Tribune. Many star athletes have appeared in videos on the site, reading hateful comments they have received on social media.
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