Stubbornness, as Much as Skill, Kept Derek Jeter on Top

Once, during a slow spring training morning several years ago, Jeter was dressing for practice at his locker in the back of the Yankees clubhouse, tucked strategically in an area removed from usual foot traffic.

The topic that day was whether the Yankees would keep their payroll below a preset limit, something unheard-of at the time. What had happened, Jeter was asked by a reporter, to George Steinbrenner’s big-spending Yankees?

“Whoa, buddy, you don’t think that’s a lot of money?” Jeter asked, effortlessly swatting the question into foul territory.

The questioner would have to bear down. Of course it is, the reporter responded, but usually the Yankees are not bound by any financial constraints.

“How many teams spend more?” Jeter demanded to know as he rummaged through his locker.

Well, not many, the reporter answered, but this is the Yankees, after all. Shouldn’t you have the largest payroll in baseball? Jeter, rapidly pulling on his socks in a manner intended to convey that the interview would end soon, said, “So, the team with the highest payroll always wins the World Series?”

Bang, there it was. Jeter was already ahead in the count in this interview, and then he sent the final question sailing into right field for a base hit. He even added a bit of a smirk, almost an early-morning version of his signature handclap at first base.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/sports/baseball/jeter-hall-of-fame-yankees.html?emc=rss&partner=rss