‘Not Something That He Was Striving to Be’- Former Yankees Manager Reveals Shocking Details About Derek Jeter’s Stint as ‘The Captain’

Is Derek Jeter the best-ever baseball player? It is a discussion that will never end. But has baseball ever seen a better leader than Jeter? Probably not! Derek Jeter was a born leader. Right from the start of his professional career, Jeter took charge of one of the biggest teams in sports.

The Yankees and Jeter were a perfect match. The two complemented each other in the best way. Jeter dedicated his entire career to the Pinstripes and made them one of the most dominating sides ever. While the Yankees also recognized the selfless efforts of their legendary captain.

If the Yankees dominated the late 1990s, it was not only because of Jeter. The Yankees had one of the best managers in Joe Torre. The combination of Jeter-Torre worked wonders for the Pinstripes. They were always open to listening to each other. The former Yankees’ manager once revealed what made Jeter a great captain.

Former Yankees manager Joe Torre heaped praise on Derek Jeter

Every baseball player dreams of winning the World Series at least once in their professional career, and Derek Jeter has won five. Not one or two, but Jeter led the Yankees to win five World Series titles.

In an old interview, Torre revealed he was very close with Jeter. Even in his rookie year, other senior players looked up to him as their leader.

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“He is a very special young man… Well, he started out calling me Mr. T, and it’s gotten to buddy. Now we are buddy. But we are still very close…,” Torre said. “I met him when he was 21 years old. And that first year in 1996, a lot of older players were looking for him to do something. Because he had those leadership abilities in him and everybody sensed it…”

The former Yankees’ manager also revealed that Jeter never strived to become the captain, but he captained the Yankees for 12 years.

“He never had an excuse. Just went out there and played all the time… He was a great leader on that club. Even he was reluctant to when we named him captain,” Torre revealed. “It really was not something that he was striving to be.”

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Debuted in the 1995 season, Jeter played his last game in the 2014 season. He won everything that a baseball player can dream of. Later, in 2020, MLB also honored him with a Hall of Fame induction.