Jeter - Derek Jeter: Jeter unfiltered

DEDICATION

To make a dream come true, you need a lot of help, and I was lucky enough to get more than my share. Start with a family that has always believed in me and never let me sell myself short on or off the field. Add to that a set of mentors who taught me what it means to wear the pinstripes and be a ballplayer for the greatest franchise in professional sports. Theres the two decades worth of teammates and brothers who played the game with me and left me with a bunch of rings to show for it.

Finally, theres the New York fans. Theyre as tough a crowd as youll find anywhere but when they do give you their love, theres nothing else like it. The pictures in this book show a side of me that most of those fans have never seen. I hope you all enjoy it.

I want to start by saying thank you.

I know they say that when you dream you eventually wake up. Well, for some reason, Ive never had to wake up. Not just because of my time as a New York Yankee but also because I am living my dream every single day.

Last year was a tough one for me. As I suffered through a bunch of injuries, I realized that some of the things that always came easily to me and were always fun had started to become a struggle. The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward.

So really it was months ago when I realized that this season would likely be my last. As I came to this conclusion and shared it with my friends and family, they all told me to hold off saying anything until I was absolutely, 100 percent sure.

And the thing is, I could not be more sure. I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball.

Ive experienced so many defining moments in my career: winning the World Series as a rookie shortstop, being named the Yankees captain, closing the old and opening the new Yankee Stadium. Through it all, Ive never stopped chasing the next one. I want to finally stop the chase and take in the world.

For the last twenty years Ive been completely focused on two goals: playing my best and helping the Yankees win. That means that for 365 days a year, my every thought and action was geared toward that goal. Its now time for something new.

From the time I was a kid, my dream was always very vivid, and it never changed: I was going to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees. It started as an empty canvas more than twenty years ago, and now that I look at it, its almost complete. In a million years, I wouldnt have believed just how beautiful it would become.

So many people have traveled along this journey with me and helped me along the way: I want to especially thank the Boss, the Steinbrenner family, the entire Yankees organization, my managers, my coaches, my teammates, my friends, and of course, above all, my family. They taught me incredible life lessons and are the number-one reason I lasted this long. They may not have been on the field, but they feel they played every game with me, and I think they are ready to call it a career as well.

I also couldnt have done it without the people of New York. New York fans always pushed me to be my best. They have embraced me, loved me, respected me, and have always been there for me. This can be a tough, invasive, critical, and demanding environment. The people of this city have high expectations and are anxious to see them met.

But its those same people who have challenged me, cheered for me, beat me down, and picked me back up all at the same time. New York made me stronger, kept me more focused, and made me a better, more well-rounded person. For that, I will be forever grateful. I never could have imagined playing anywhere else.

I will remember it all: the cheers, the boos, every win, every loss, all the plane trips, the bus rides, the clubhouses, the walks through the tunnel, and every drive to and from the Bronx. I have achieved almost every personal and professional goal I have set. I have gotten the very most out of my life playing baseball, and I have absolutely no regrets.

Now it is time for the next chapter in my life. I have new dreams and aspirations, and I want new challenges. There are many things I want to do in business and in philanthropic work, in addition to focusing more on my personal life and starting a family of my own. And I want the ability to move at my own pace, see the world, and finally have a summer vacation.

But before that, I want to soak in every moment of every day this year, so I can remember it for the rest of my life. And most important, I want to help the Yankees reach our goal of winning another championship.

Once again, thank you.

This spring training was different, because more than ever before, I focused on trying to enjoy it. When everyone shows up for spring training, all they look forward to is the end of it. Most guys just cant wait to get out there on Opening Day and start playing. A countdown beginsthirty days left, twenty days left, and so onits all the guys talk about. Ive done that, too, in the past, but not this time. I went in and tried to enjoy every day, without thinking about the end of it. The end would come soon enough.

Welcome to the Big Time

I remember showing up for my first spring training at eighteen years old. It used to be held down in Fort Lauderdale, so Doug, who has been my friend since fourth grade, made the long drive with me from Kalamazoo in the first car that Id bought, a red Mitsubishi 3000. I was nervous, I was intimidated, I was scared. After being a lifelong Yankees fan who had played most of his years with a friend at third base, throwing to another friend at first, and flicking it to a close friend at second, all of a sudden there I am with Don Mattingly at first base and Wade Boggs at third. Those are guys I grew up watching and idolizing, so it was intimidating, to say the very least.