Derek Jeter is an all-rounder. He made a name for himself in the sports world before going ahead to launch a successful business career. The former professional baseball player played in both the minor league and the major league of baseball as a shortstop. He was such a good player that all baseball fans around the world would agree that he was one of the top stars of the game during his playing days.
Having accomplished a lot as a player for the New York Yankees where he spent his entire career, Jeter, upon retirement, moved into a career in business. He notably co-owns the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). There is so much to learn about the life of one of baseball’s greatest, starting with his humble beginnings as the son of a substance abuse counselor.
Derek Jeter’s Family Fueled His Passion For Baseball
Derek Jeter is of mixed ethnicity. His accountant mother is of English, German, and Irish descent while his dad, a substance abuse counselor, is African American. He was born on June 26, 1974, in Pequannock Township, New Jersey.
All the members of his family had an interest in sports, which prompted his own interest in sporting activities. Jeter’s father played baseball during his heydays. He played as a shortstop for the Fisk University. Jeter himself proved to be excellent in the game as a child as he also played basketball.
After his family moved to Michigan, the future Hall of Famer attended Kalamazoo Central High School where he played baseball, basketball, and ran cross country. His primary focus, however, was baseball. He batted .557 in his second year and .508 as a junior. Moving into his senior year, he improved his stats with 23 runs batted in (RBI), 21 walks, four home runs, a .637 on-base percentage (OBP), a .831 slugging percentage (SLG), 12 stolen bases (in 12 attempts), and only one strikeout.
Derek Jeter’s high school years were indeed a success, and that prompted the University of Michigan to make a scholarship offer to him. He initially wanted to accept it but later declined it to go pro. The New York Yankees subsequently drafted him in 1992 and he signed an $800K contract deal with the team. Jeter played in the minor league for three years before moving up to the major leagues.
His Legendary Baseball Career
Having forgone spending a couple of years in college to build his experience, Derek Jeter spent the first three years of his professional life learning in the minor leagues. He started with the Gulf Coast Yankees where he had a poor first season.
Things did not exactly change in his second season either, and his reputation as a future New York Yankee leader came into question. He played for Greensboro Hornets in the second and third seasons. The third season saw a remarkable shift in his performances, earning accolades like Best Infield Arm and Most Exciting Player by Baseball America.
Jeter also played for the Tampa Yankees and Columbus Clippers before he eventually returned to the Major Leagues for the Yankees. His career with the team went on to span twenty years, from 1995 to 2014. His first game in the MLB was on May 29, 1995.
Although Derek Jeter struggled in his first season, he finished his debut Major League Baseball season as the AL Rookie of the Year. He won all 28 first-place votes, becoming the fifth sweep in the honor’s history. Raking up such accolades would become the theme of his baseball career. As projected, the shortstop became the leader of the Yankees, both on the pitch and off it. He captained the team from 2003 to 2014 when he retired.
In his second season, he won his first World Series. He won four more before he retired, including winning three consecutive titles between 1998 and 2000. He got named in his first All-Star team in 1998. He featured in an additional 13 All-Star games, and once went on a six-year consecutive appearance from 2006 to 2012.
On a more personal level, Jeter won five Gold Glove Awards and Silver Slugger Awards. He also won two AL Hank Aaron Awards.
Jeter’s Career Stats and Player Profile
All the accolades that define Derek Jeter’s New York Yankees career came from extraordinary performances every season. It is rare to find a high-level talent who rarely loses. Nowhere was his consistency more pronounced than in the postseason where he earned himself nicknames like Captain Clutch and Mr. November. His ability to lift his team during the postseason and lead them to titles became a cornerstone definition of his career.
Jeter wasn’t an occasional feature in the MLB postseason either. He helped the Yankees qualify for the postseason every season, except for three years in 2008, and his last two seasons in 2013 and 2014. With 158 games, he holds the most appearance in the postseason games.
Overall, over 20 years, he played 2747 games and had 12602 plate appearances. He finished his career with a batting average of .310 and has 3465 hits, 260 home runs, and 1311 runs batted in. Jeter holds the Yankees records for hits and plate appearances. He also holds the title for most times on base (4,716), stolen bases (358), doubles (544), and at-bats (11,195).
Across the MLB and its history, he is sixth in career hits and first in the shortstops’ category. Three years after his retirement, the Yankees retired his jersey number as he got inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.
Derek Jeter’s Endeavors As a Businessman
Baseball gave Derek Jeter his name, and he was extremely good at it. He has since leveraged on this popularity to explore other career interests. One of those interests is book publishing, as he owns Jeter Publishing. The publishing company has a partnership with Simon & Schuster and publishes nonfiction books and fiction for children and adults.
Jeter also founded the popular sports website, ThePlayersTribune, and he is a brand development officer for Luvo Inc. But the most significant career move by Jeter outside of him playing baseball is his ownership stake with the Miami Marlins.
He, along with his business partners, including Bruce Sherman, bought the MLB team in August 2017. The deal gave Jeter 4% ownership of the team as well as the CEO position of the franchise.
Outside of his direct business interests, he is a notorious endorser of several brands and products. Since reaching national stardom with the Yankees, he has attracted brands like Discover Card, Nike, Gillette, Skippy, VISA, Ford, and several others. He also has a Jumpman shoe and was once rated the most marketable player in baseball.
He Has a Net Worth of $200 Million
All of Derek Jeter’s endeavors, from his outstanding and legendary career to a thriving turn as an investor and team owner, has earned him a net worth of $200 million.
As a player, he made more than $266 million from salary to bonuses. His earnings shot up to $490 million when his endorsements and business interests are considered. The same consistency that defined his career as a player seems to be rubbing off on his life as a businessman. He continues to be an attraction for brands, and his life as a CEO has ensured he makes as much as $30 million a year.
Specific Details About His Family
Derek Jeter was born into a career-oriented home and a wealthy one at that. His dad, Sanderson Charles Jeter, holds a Ph.D. and makes a living as a substance abuse counselor while his mom, Dorothy, is an accountant. His parents met while his dad worked with the United States Army in Germany.
The couple, who also have a daughter named Sharlee, are reported to have been strict disciplinarians. They made him sign a contract of good behavior year in, year out. Dorothy, on her part, trained her son to know that there is no impossibility in attaining anything in life and instilled in him a positive attitude.
Dissecting Derek Jeter’s Love Life
Derek Jeter was linked to so many Hollywood celebs, most notably Mariah Carey. Their relationship received massive publicity but only lasted a year from 1997 to 1998. The end of his relationship with Mariah sparked a series of failed relationships with multiple celebrities.
Jeter has dated Indian actress Lara Dutta, singer Joy Enriquez, actress Jordana Brewster, and model Vanessa Lachey. After his relationship with Lachey ended, he dated model Vida Guerra in 2005. In the following year, he started a relationship with actress Jessica Biel and later moved on to actress Minka Kelly who he dated for four years from 2008 to 2012.
Marriage to Hannah Davis
In 2017, Derek Jeter finally settled down and got married to a model named Hannah Davis. The two began their relationship in 2012. They got engaged in 2015 before walking down the aisle on July 9, 2016. Since they got married, Jeter and Hannah have given birth to two children.
Their first child, daughter Bella Raine Jeter, was born in 2017, on August 17. They gave birth to their second child, another daughter, Story Grey Jeter, on January 31, 2019. Expectedly, the couple has mostly limited the exposure of their children’s identity to the press. That is, however, expected to change as they grow older.
Just like her husband, Hannah has excelled in her career. She is from the U.S Virgin Islands and is signed to IMG Models. She has modeled for so many prestigious brands in the sports and fashion world, including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret, and Tommy Hilfiger to mention a few.
Hannah Jeter is also a TV personality, having hosted Project Runway: Junior. She has also appeared as an actress in the comedy film, Vacation.
