Derek Jeter Made a Bizzare Compromise to Ensure He Didn’t Breach His Dream $189 Million MLB Contract in 2004

Derek Jeter played through a glorious baseball career consisting of dreamy records. Playing for the most glamorous MLB franchise, he stayed loyal to his team until retirement. Therefore, he had a royal life and lived like a King of the city. Nonetheless, there are strict rules that would even restrict the activities of someone with Jeter’s towering social stature. 

Derek Jeter was the New York Yankees shortstop, from 1995 to 2014. Achieving gargantuan success on the baseball diamond, he became a 14-time All-Star player, and a five-time World Series champion. Jeter also got an MLB Hall Of Fame induction post-retirement. 

Jeter was among the legendary athletes that rose to celebrity status. However, no one is above the law. So Jeter couldn’t do something that he once wished. Thus, having to revert to some alternative way. 

When Derek Jeter couldn’t ride a two-wheeler 

While Derek Jeter was a player in the Yankees ranks, he couldn’t ride a motorcycle. Not that he didn’t know how to ride one. But rather, he got banned from riding motorcycles by his Yankees’ contract. Therefore, he had to opt for riding a scooter instead, that too at a particularly selective time. 

Once in an interview with Playboy magazine in 2004, the interviewer asked Jeter, if he owns a motorcycle. Jeter pointed that out rather as a scooter. It was a Christmas gift to him from his former Yankees teammate, Gerald Williams. Playing for the Miami Marlins in 2003, Williams later moved to the New York Mets in 2004. 

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The interviewer jokingly enquired again, asking, “You’re sure it’s not a motorcycle?” Jeter replied with a smile saying, “It’s a scooter. I’m not allowed to ride a motorcycle. It’s in my contract. Actually, it’s not even my scooter. It’s a friend’s.” Jeter also mentioned having had to ride the scooter only at night, because two-wheelers had no allowance in his area. 

Derek Jeter’s life after the grand farewell 

Jeter bid adieu to the baseball diamond with pomp. But re-established a connection with his beloved sport as the joint-owner and CEO of the Miami Marlins, in 2017. However, after a brief stint in the administrative role, he resigned from the duties in 2022. Now, Jeter lives a normal family life, far away from the playing arena. 

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Do you consider Derek Jeter’s decision of riding a scooter at night despite prohibition, to be a brave act?