The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Jeter speaks at Hamilton
Thousands brave snow to attend
Prior to his appearance in Hamilton College’s Sacerdote Great Names series, Derek Jeter said his goal for the evening was to have fun.
As was the case throughout his career with the New York Yankees, it was a goal he accomplished.
The former shortstop and future Hall-Of-Famer shared plenty of laughs with moderator Harold Reynolds and a few serious moments as they talked about his tenure with the Yankees, post-retirement plans and much more at the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Wednesday night.
“I just want to have fun,” Jeter said in a news conference before
“For you kids out there, just know that your voices need to be heard.”
- Derek Jeter
the event. “I’ll have funwith Harold up there and hopefully try to include the people as much as we can.”
Thousands braved the winter storm that raged outside to fill the field house and see Jeter speak, filling it with repeated chants of “De-rek Je-ter” filled the air before Hamilton College President Joan Hinde Stewart welcomed Jeter and Reynolds to the stage. Jeter quickly asked the moderator to leave the stage and return to see much applause he could get and the crowd responded for the former Seattle Mariners shortstop.
Reynolds promised to “dig deep” with his questions to Jeter, starting with the former Yankee’s childhood. Jeter said his family was very close and credited his parents for giving him a sense of discipline but also believing in his childhood dream of playing shortstop for the Yankees.
“People would always say that I have a lot of confidence when I’m playing but really I just look up there and see my momso I felt a whole lot better,” he said.
While talking about his playing days, Jeter also talked about his reputation off the field. Former owner George Steinbrenner told the shortstop during every offseason that he needed to focus on the team and not be out on the town until 3 a.m., which partially led to Jeter getting the reputation as a partier. After returning from an injury, Jeter had new teammate Hideki Matsui and several other Yankees to his apartment for dinner before going out only to see his picture on the front page the next morning that brought a call from Steinbrenner.
“Man, I’m about to get traded, released,” said Jeter of his thoughts at that moment. “Then that’s when he told me that he wanted to name me captain of the team. So it all worked out.”
A big part of the evening was Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation, which he and his family started after his first season with the Yankees to promote healthy lifestyles free of drugs and alcohol for young people. The foundation’s signature program is Jeter’s Leaders, a programthat has seen over 150 students graduate and enroll in college. Providing social change is a key part of the program and Jeter framed it through the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri; New York City and Cleveland.
“We’ve always told our leaders that their voices are very, very important,” he said. “These are high school kids that are out there and they’re taking the initiative to speak to other high school kids. For you kids out there, just know that your voices need to be heard. You need to stand up and you need to speak for what you believe in.”
Jeter also talked about his post-Yankees plans which include a potential return to baseball, but not on the field. Owning a team is the future Hall-ofFamer’s next aspiration, now that his dream of being the Yankees’ shortstop has reached its end.
He closed the night by sharing one more hope for his future.
“I’ve always had another dream, actually, of having a son or daughter and coaching their Little League baseball or softball,” he said. “I don’t know enough about the other sports to do it, but baseball or softball and picking all the worst kids in the league and putting them on my team and just making sure they have fun.”