He batted .334 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs with 30 steals to help lead the Yankees to their first World Series title in nine years -- a frustrating drought for the player who won four championships in his first five seasons.
And as calls swelled for Jeter to switch positions after his contract expires in 2010, the 10-time All-Star went out and had one of his best defensive seasons: He made a career-low eight errors in winning his fourth Gold Glove.
He also passed Yankees icon Lou Gehrig's club record for hits, won the Hank Aaron Award as the AL's top hitter, and was given the Roberto Clemente Award for excellence on and off the field. The World Series victory might have been Jeter's most cherished accomplishment this year, but what clinched the sportsman award for him was his philanthropic work. Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation has doled out over $10 million in grants since 1996 to organizations that help keep young people away from alcohol and drugs.
The beginning of the 2004 season saw Jeter mired in a slump; on May 25, he was hitting only .189. This included a personal career record 0-for-32 skid in April. In June, however, Jeter broke out of his slump. He hit nearly .400 for the month and set a personal best with 9 home runs. He finished the season with a .292 average and 23 home runs, the 2nd most of his career, as well as 44 doubles.
During a July 1, 2004, game against the rival Boston Red Sox, Jeter made a play which furthered his reputation as a clutch player. In the top of the 12th inning, with the score tied at 3, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with 2 outs and right fielder Trot Nixon up at bat. Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortshop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. In dramatic fashion he launched himself over the third base side railing, landing three rows into the left field seats, and lacerating his chin and bruising his face in the process. Jeter was later taken out of the game. This catch ended the inning and later the Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning. The "Dive" was awarded Play Of The Year in the This Year In Baseball awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com.
In 2005, Jeter was second in the AL in runs (122) and batting average on balls in play (.394), and third in the league in at bats (654) and hits (202). Jeter won his second consecutive Gold Glove in 2005, as his low range factor rose to 4.76 and ranked 2nd among AL shortstops.
In 2006, Jeter was second in the American league in batting average (.343) and runs scored (118), third in hits (214), stolen base success percentage (87.2), and batting average with runners in scoring position (.381), and fifth in infield hits (26).He finished second in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting to Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins (320 points to 306 points). Jeter has finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting 6 times in his 11 full seasons through 2006 (including also a third place finish in 1998).
A man in a grey baseball uniform and a navy blue helmet gets into his batting stance.
Jeter prepares to bat at Oriole Park in 2007
In 2007, Jeter was third in the AL in hits (203), his sixth season and third consecutive season with 200 hits, tying Lou Gehrig. He was also fourth in at bats (639) and plate appearances (714), sixth in times on base (276), and ninth in batting average (.322).In the field, he was involved in a career-high 104 double plays.
In 2008, Jeter's slugging percentage was .410, his lowest since 1997. One possible cause was a prolonged slump Jeter suffered after being hit by a pitch on his wrist. Before the injury, Jeter was hitting .324 with a .774 on-base plus slugging (OPS). After the injury, his batting average dipped as low as .269 by the end of the month. His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1. Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop.
Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008. On September 16 he went on to break the record off of Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd.
In 2009, Jeter was named #8 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball by a panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards.
For the 2009 season, Yankees manager Joe Girardi switched Jeter and Johnny Damon in the batting order, with Damon moving to second and Jeter becoming the leadoff hitter, based on the rationale that Jeter has a higher on base percentage than Damon, but grounds into double plays more often. Jeter batted .334 (third in the AL) with a .406 on-base percentage, 18 home runs, 30 stolen bases (caught only 5 times), 107 runs scored (in the top 10 in MLB) and 212 hits (second in MLB).
On August 16, 2009, against the Seattle Mariners, Jeter doubled down the right field line for his 2,675th hit as a shortstop, breaking Luis Aparicio's previous record for the most hits by a shortstop in major league history.Jeter became the all-time hits leader as a member of the Yankees (2,722), passing Lou Gehrig on September 11, 2009. The hit was a single off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the 3rd inning.
In the 2009 postseason, Jeter batted .355, including .407 in the 2009 World Series, as he won his fifth World Series championship.
World Baseball Classic
Derek was the starting shortstop for the USA team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Jeter hit .450 (9-for-20) for Team USA and scored five runs in six games. Only Ken Griffey, Jr. (.524) and Cuba's Yoandy Garlobo (.480) had a higher batting average with a minimum of 20 at bats. Jeter's play earned him recognition as the shortstop selection on the All-Tournament Team.
Jeter was also the starting shortstop for Team USA in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. At the start of the tournament, Derek was named captain of Team USA by manager Davey Johnson. With Team USA, Jeter faced the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field in an exhibition game, the first time he played against the Yankees.
Player profile
Jeter is noted for his very consistent postseason performances: he has a career .309 postseason batting average with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs. Except for 2008, the Yankees have been to the playoffs every year since Jeter joined the team. He has a Major League Baseball record 153 career postseason hits, and also holds records for most postseason singles (111), at-bats (495), runs scored (85) and strikeouts (96).
A man in a grey baseball uniform and navy blue baseball cap bends his knees as he prepares for the next play.
Jeter at shortstop in 2007
Despite winning four Gold Glove awards, Jeter's defense has been the subject of criticism from a number of sabermetricians, including Rob Neyer and the publication Baseball Prospectus.The book The Fielding Bible by John Dewan contains an essay by James in which he concludes that Jeter "was probably the most ineffective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position." A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, from 2002 through 2005, Jeter was the worst defensive shortstop in the Major Leagues.Jeter responded to this criticism by saying "I play in New York, man. Criticism is part of the game, you take criticism as a challenge."
During the 2008 offseason, Jeter embarked on a rigorous training program to combat the effects of age, which emphasizes on lateral movement and first-step quickness. As a result, many baseball writers noted Jeter had a strong defensive season in 2009, improving his mobility and reducing error.
