Derek Jeter by Matt Christopher

Author:Matt Christopher [CHRISTOPHER, MATTHEW F]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780316094139
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2009-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine: 1997

Sophomore Slump?

The baseball phrase “sophomore slump” refers to the letdown many players experience in their second season in the major leagues. After having some success in their rookie season, many young players take it easy in their second year. They think they’ve got the game of baseball all figured out and they don’t have to work as hard to stay in the big leagues as they did to get there. As a result, many players falter in their second, or sophomore, season.

No one had to warn Jeter about the sophomore slump. He’d heard all about it and was determined not to let it happen to him. When a reporter asked him if he was worried about it, Jeter said, “Everyone’s talking about it — it makes me work that much harder.”

Soon after the World Series he traveled to Tampa and rented an apartment. Jeter, several other younger Yankees, and his friend Alex Rodriguez all worked out together to prepare for the upcoming season.

But Jeter didn’t spend the entire off-season in Tampa. In the wake of the Series, he had become a big celebrity. He appeared on a host of television programs, including The Late Show with David Letterman and Seinfeld. And as one of the few Yankees who lived in Manhattan, he was often asked to attend charity functions in New York and lend his name to good causes.

He knew there was no way he would be able to accommodate every such request. But he still wanted to help people out, to somehow share his good fortune with those less fortunate.

From the very beginning of his career Jeter realized that kids look up to athletes as role models, and he tried to live up to that image. His own parents did a great job steering him clear of trouble, so he decided to try to do the same for the kids that look up to him as a hero.

With the assistance of his father and his agent, Casey Close, Jeter created the Turn 2 Foundation, so named because the phrase “turn two” is baseball slang for a double play. The goal of the foundation is to support programs to prevent and treat teenage abuse of drugs and alcohol and to provide alternative activities and scholarships both in the Kalamazoo area and in metropolitan New York. Jeter donates to the foundation himself and solicits contributions from sponsors and corporations, as well. In fact, Jeter only agrees to do endorsements for companies that agree in turn to support his foundation.

“I believe it’s important to give something back to the community,” Jeter said when he created the foundation. “I want to show kids there’s another way to go.” Although the charity started out very small, over the years it has grown. Dr. Charles Jeter, with his background as a substance abuse counselor, now manages the foundation full-time. “It involves a different relationship for us,” said Dr. Jeter when asked what it’s like to work with his son. “It brings us closer together.

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