New York Post

Nevin: It’s an honor to be part of the ‘Jeter 5’

- By PETER BOTTE

Five players were selected ahead of Derek Jeter in the 1992 MLB draft, and one of them happens to be the third-base coach of the Yankees.

Phil Nevin was tabbed as the first-overall pick by the Astros as a third baseman out of Cal-State Fullerton, and he went on to play 12 seasons in the majors with seven teams.

The others selected ahead of Jeter, who will be enshrined Wednesday in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstow­n, were pitchers Paul Shuey (Indians) and B.J. Wallace (Expos) and outfielder­s Jeffrey Hammonds (Orioles) and Chad Mottola (Reds).

Nevin joked that he recently read an article that compared the five players picked ahead of Jeter to the six quarterbac­ks taken ahead of Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft.

“They had the Brady 6 and the Jeter 5. It made it sound like we were all failures in front of him. … Obviously not Hall of Famers, but a few of us had an impact on the game,” Nevin said. “The draft in baseball is such a crapshoot compared to the NBA or the NFL . ... But it’s an honor to have your name mentioned with players like Derek, to be honest. It was an honor to be on the same field with him for so long. I see him, I consider him an acquaintan­ce because of [that connection]. I’m happy that tomorrow is finally going to happen for him and for [fellow inductee] Larry Walker.”

➤ Aaron Boone, a second-half teammate of Jeter’s on the 2003 Yankees squad that lost to the Marlins in the World Series, said current players grew up with the former captain as “the face of Major League Baseball.”

“Absolutely, you can’t help being a part of this organizati­on and know the impact that Derek’s had,” Boone said. “It’s somebody that I’m sure you walk through there and a handful of guys he was their favorite player and for the modern player, people are very aware of.”

➤ Boone said Domingo German (shoulder) and Luis Severino (shoulder) threw bullpen sessions before Tuesday’s game. … Luis Gil will start Wednesday followed by Nestor Cortes Jr. the next night.

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