“I Had Pancakes, I Had Everything”: When Derek Jeter and Wife Hannah Jeter Gave Differing Takes on Controversial ‘Derek Eater’ Phase

With five World Championships and seven consecutive All-Star appearances, Derek Jeter was on the path to his sixth World Series Ring – second as captain. But destiny had different plans for the 38-year-old shortstop, who fractured his left ankle in the first game of the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers.

While that began a very dark and miserable time for the Yankees captain, he wasn’t someone who would simply sit it out. Captain Clutch wanted to hit the field again and tell the world that Jeter wasn’t finished. And so began his rehabilitation journey.

From Derek Jeter to Derek Eater:

Rehab wasn’t easy for the Yankees superstar, who was under immense public scrutiny. The offseason prior to the 2013 season, as described by Hannah Jeter (then Hannah Davis), “was the worst.” A few weeks into rehab, an article surfaced, with the headline, “‘Derek Eater’ – Rehabbing Jeter takes fork in the road recovery.”

Derek Jeter narrated the moment he saw that headline for the first time: “We had a hotel in Miami. And I remember being at a restaurant, eating breakfast and someone showed me the article. ‘Derek Eater’. They made my shirt bigger and my shorts bigger and made me look like I’m 300 pounds. And I had pancakes. I had everything. Bacon, eggs, everything, and then I see this story and the first thing I do is push it aside. I’m like, ‘damn, people think I’m huge now.'”

That news piece shook Captain Clutch up. Being displayed as someone above 300 pounds, Jeter’s mentality changed in the middle of rehab. He wanted to be back in the park. Hannah Jeter spoke about this in the sixth episode of his documentary and said, “I need him to be healthy. Because he is not a guy that likes to be down and out. So, sort of like, do whatever you can put a bandaid on it, and let’s go.”

Read More: “But My Favorite Memory From That Trip” – When a Trip to Japan With a Former Teammate Became a Moment of Realization for New York Yankees Legend Derek Jeter

2013 turned out to be a very short season for Jeter, who hurt himself again and was out for pretty much the entire season. Finally, in 2014, after serving the Pinstripes for 20 years, Jeter decided to hang up his boots.

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