Derek Jeter

Jeter-hating has turned into a lucrative cottage industry and obsession in Boston, with countless vendors selling t-shirts reading "Jeter Sucks" and other obscence messages outside of Fenway Park. Rumors circulating that Justin Timberlake has quit the group have added to the uncertainty over the groups future. Therefore, Jeter may in fact be the 13th or 14th Yankees captain.). Plans to work on their fifth album are being discussed, however details are uncertain. Rosenberg, the foremost historian on baseball captains and author of the 2003 book Cap Anson 1: When Captaining a Team Meant Something: Leadership in Baseball's Early Years, has found that the count of Yankee captains is deficient Hall of Famer Clark Griffith, the 1903-05 captain, and Kid Elberfeld, the 1906-09 one, with 1913 Manager Frank Chance a strong circumstantial candidate to have been captain that year as well. Joey is acting in movies (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and on Broadway (Rent). (However, Howard W. Lance abandoned his plans to be the first celebrity in space.

These heroics, as well as his off-the-field leadership, led to the Yankees naming him the 11th captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003. Chris closed his clothing business, Fuman Skeeto. In January of 2005, Derek Jeter was voted the best baserunner in baseball by ESPN.com. The group went on hiatus in 2002, as two of its members released solo albums -- Justin Timberlake released Justified on November 4, 2002 and JC Chasez released his solo album, Schizophrenic, on February 24, 2004. Uncharacteristically, Jeter struggled during the 2004 ALCS against Boston, batting only .200 in a series in which the Yankees would notably become the first team in MLB history to lose a best-of-seven series after taking a 3-games-to-nothing-lead. Recent hits such as "Gone" and "Girlfriend" have expanded the group's influence and fan base into the hip-hop crowd as well. Jeter has hit above .300 in 14 of the 22 postseason series he's played in, including 4 of his last 6 (.500 in the 2002 ALDS, .429 in the 2003 ALDS, .346 in the 2003 World Series, and .316 in the 2004 ALDS), further solidifying his reputation as a "clutch" player. Their albums have been boosted by a number of successful single releases, including "Tearin' Up My Heart" from *NSYNC, "Music Of My Heart" recorded with Gloria Estefan for the movie Music of the Heart, "Bye Bye Bye", "It's Gonna Be Me" and "This I Promise You" from No Strings Attached.

November," as it came 3 minutes after midnight on November 1. Due to the September 11, 2001 attacks, it was the first Major League game to be played in the month of November. Their fourth album, Celebrity comes in at number two, with 1.8 million records sold in its first week. The home run earned Jeter the moniker, "Mr. After moving from BMG to Jive Records, home of rival boy band Backstreet Boys, No Strings Attached, released in March 2000, sold 2.4 million copies in its first week of release—the highest first week sales in music history (1.1 million of which was attributed to the first day of release). Jeter has also had some of his most memorable moments in postseason play, including his eighth inning, game-tying home run against Baltimore in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, his shovel pass in Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS against Oakland, and his game-winning, tenth-inning home run off Arizona's Byung-Hyun Kim in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series. Their debut album, released by BMG, did well in Europe and the US as did the seasonal Home For Christmas. Jeter's personal postseason performance has been just as good. As of 2005, Jeter has a career .306 postseason batting average and ranks among the leaders in many postseason categories: 2nd in runs, 1st in hits, 2nd in total bases, 2nd in doubles, 7th in home runs, 6th in RBIs, 5th in walks, 1st in singles, and 6th in stolen bases. The group produces a blend of pop, dance, and R&B that they call "dirty pop". No Strings Attached was the first album to feature this type of music; they gave the style a name with their latest album Celebrity.

Jeter's teams have also won 17 of the 22 postseason series they've played in, and have compiled a remarkable overall postseason record of 72-38. Their defining album, No Strings Attached, released shortly thereafter, proved that the boys were back in business. Since arriving in the majors in 1996, Jeter's Yankees have been in the playoffs every year (winning the AL East Division all but once) and have won 6 AL Championships and 4 World Series Championships. *NSYNC left Pearlman to be managed by Johnny Wright of Wright Entertainment Group. Throughout his career, Jeter has been known as one of the best postseason players in baseball history. Shortly after their breakthrough, *NSYNC fought a court battle against their manager citing mismanagement. New York would win the game in the bottom of the inning, and Jeter was back in the lineup the very next night against the New York Mets. After Lance joined, the group claimed to call him "Lansten" so his name would fit in the *NSYNC acronym.

Jeter held on to the ball, but emerged from the stands bruised and bloodied, with lacerations on his chin and cheek, and had to leave the game for X-rays. It was created from the last letter of each member's name: Justin, Chris, Joey, Jason, and JC. Jeter sprinted for the ball from his position at shortstop and made a running catch at full-speed, sending him into the stands headfirst. The logic behind the name *NSYNC came from Justin's mother, Lynn Harless. In the 12th inning of a tie-game against the Boston Red Sox, Boston's Trot Nixon hit a pop-up down the left-field line. The bass part was sung by Jason Watkins, who left the group early on because he did not like the type of music *NSYNC was performing. On July 1, 2004, Jeter made another extraordinary defensive play. Lance Bass, who coincidentally sang bass, was not originally part of the group.

The Yankees went on to win the series. The group formed in 1995 under the funding of Lou Pearlman, who hired Johnny Wright (former manager of New Kids On The Block ) to be their tour manager. Jeter cut the ball off, and shovel-passed the ball to catcher Jorge Posada, who tagged the runner out and saved a run.
. The throw went over the cutoff man, first baseman Tino Martinez. The group members are James Lance Bass, Joshua Scott Chasez (JC), Joseph Anthony Fatone Junior (Joey), Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick (Chris), and Justin Randall Timberlake. The Yankee rightfielder, Shane Spencer, threw home, to try to stop the tying run from scoring. *NSYNC is a five-part pop music vocal group, specifically a boy band, formed in Orlando, Florida, USA.

With a runner on first, Terrence Long hit a double down the right-field line. 2002 "Girlfriend"(w/Nelly) #4 US, #2 UK. The Yankees trailed in the Series 2 games to 0 to the Oakland Athletics, and led 1-0 in the 7th inning. 2001 "Gone" #11 US, #24 UK. Perhaps the best example of his defensive prowess took place on October 13, 2001, during the 3rd game of the ALDS. 2001 "Pop" #19 US, #9 UK. In 2004, Jeter won his first American League Gold Glove Award, an award given annually to the best defensive player at each position. 2000 "I'll Never Stop" #13 UK (Not released in US).

He continues to put up similar seasons as he did what he's always done in 2001 and 2002, hit solidly for average and for power, steal bases, and play steady defense. 2000 "This I Promise You" #5 US, #21 UK. 2000 made up for the misses in MVP award voting, as he won All-Star MVP honors, and then World Series MVP honors as the Yankees defeated the Mets in the Subway Series. 2000 "It's Gonna Be Me" #1 US(2 weeks), #9 UK GOLD. This earned him 6th place honors though in MVP voting. 2000 "Bye Bye Bye" #4 US, #3 UK. While his 1998 was great, his 1999 was statistically better, as he reached career highs in average, home runs, RBIs, and walks, leading the AL in hits with 219. 2000 "Music of My Heart" (with Gloria Estefan) #2 US, #34 UK GOLD.

Putting together his best year defensively as well, he earned his first all-star appearances and 3rd place in MVP voting. 1999 "I Drive Myself Crazy" #67 US. Also in 1998, he led the American League in runs scored, with 127. 1999 "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" #8 US. In the Yankees' 1998 campaign, in which they won 114 games, he batted .324. 1998 "Tearin' Up My Heart" #59 US, #9 UK. Despite the media's influence, he continued to produce. 1998 "I Want You Back" #5 UK.

A highly eligible bachelor in New York with matinee idol looks, his love life became a hot topic among the press, most memorably a long affair with pop star Mariah Carey. Celebrity (2001, Jive) #1 (Debut) US (1 week) 5× Platinum, #12 UK. During his rookie season the young shortstop gained instant fame and soon became a regular subject in the local newspapers' gossip columns. No Strings Attached (2000, Jive) #1 (Debut) US (8 weeks) 11× Platinum, #14 UK. Replays clearly showed fan interference, but it was nonetheless ruled a home run. The Winter Album (1998, BMG) (Not released in US). His postseason was highlighted, in a way, by a home run in the League Championship Series, a home run that was very famously deflected by 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier who reached over the wall (and, technically, onto the field of play) and stole the ball from Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco. Home For Christmas (1998, RCA/BMG) #7 US 2× Platinum.

He saved his best for the postseason, where he batted .361 in 15 playoff games en route to the Yankees' first world title in 18 years. NSYNC (1998, RCA/BMG) #2 US 10× Platinum, #30 UK. It didn't take long for the Yankee faithful to take to Jeter, as he earned Rookie of the Year honors by having a solid all-around year in which he hit .314. He showed enough talent to replace Fernandez, and inherited his starting spot in 1996. He earned a taste of the big leagues on May 29, 1995 replacing an injured Tony Fernandez, only a month before turning 21.

He has worn that number from the beginning, and many believe it will be retired in his honor when he finishes his career. But his hope that he could get to wear a Yankee uniform with a single digit was realized, and he got the number 2. Growing up, he had wondered whether the Yankees would have any one-digit uniform numbers left, as so many of them had been retired. Jeter left the Wolverines behind to follow his dream.

He had a baseball scholarship to Michigan, but the New York Yankees drafted him in the first round of the amateur draft. Jeter was named 1992 High School Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. His father, Charles, is African American; his mother, Dorothy, is white. Derek Sanderson Jeter (born June 26, 1974 in Pequannock, New Jersey) is a shortstop for the New York Yankees and six-time All-Star.