Derek Jeter Identified as "a Yankee" Within Moments of Yankees Scout Seeing Him For the First Time in 1991

"At the high school, a coach was conducting infield drills when he fungoed a ball into the hole between third and short. It looked as if it was going to dribble through to left field, when a wispy shortstop sprinted to his right, backhanded it, leapt into the air and, while leaning backward, contorted his body into a single, fluid throwing motion that culminated with the ball’s whistling into the first baseman’s mitt."

It didn’t take long for Groch fto identify Jeter’s 6th tool…

"Groch described this 159-pound high-school junior named Derek Jeter as a five-tool prospect. He also noted a sixth attribute: Jeter was “a Yankee.”"

1991! Two years later, the picture on the right was taken by Andrea Modica for a series on young baseball players. Most players were tense and anxious. Come on!

"“But Derek didn’t have that tension,” she says. “He was elegant.”"

A Yankee at 17. Elegant at 21. I would suggest we put those on his tombstone, but legends never die.

[The New York Times Magazine]