The Derek Jeter Documentary Premieres Tonight
I can't wait to watch Jeter's career unfold again
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Here’s one I know you’ve heard before. Derek Jeter is my favorite player.
I was 16 years old and lived just 10 miles from Yankee Stadium when he made his big splash onto the New York scene. Jeter wasn’t that much older than me. Six years. 10 miles but a world away.
It was like watching a rock star perform every time he took the field.
Jeter’s first full rookie season was special, and I got to witness it. I watched the Yankees every summer, but as a kid other things took precedent like playing stickball with friends, staying up late watching fireworks or laughing with my cousins until the wee hours of the morning.
But I got sick a lot in the summer. Nothing crazy, but summer colds, stomach viruses and, one time, a horrible case of Swimmer’s Ear. I would spend my time resting while taking in games with Phil Rizzuto and The Money Store.
The worst was 1996. It was a magical year with the Yankees on their way to their first World Series title since 1978. But that summer I got sick, really sick.
On my Sweet 16 (July 11), I got chicken pox. It sucked. The older you get the worse it is. I had them everywhere (and still have the scars). I itched liked crazy, but I also had fever and body aches. I was miserable and didn’t leave the house for close to a month until the pox finally went away.
I watched more baseball that summer than any other.
I saw Jeter’s electric rookie season. Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera stake their claims as cornerstones of this team. Bernie Williams do exactlly what he was born to do. That season got me through the worst summer.
So, it’s safe to say I’ll be tuned in tonight when The Captain premieres on ESPN at 10 pm ET after the Home Run Derby.
This card is from 2015 Topps Finest Careers Die-Cut insert set, which was a case hit. I was lucky enough to work on it when I was at Topps. Being a huge Jeter fan, the Product Manager asked me to pick Jeter’s 10 best moments.
I was picking the images before he could finish the question.
The picture is of Jeter on Opening Day in 1996 when he blasted his first career home run and was well on his way to the American League Rookie of the Year that season.
This was card No. 1 in that fun set and I can’t wait to relive it all again starting tonight.
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