“Where the Hell…”: Derek Jeter Once Broke Character in a Rare Fit of Anger as 2001 Yankees Approached Crucial Championship Game

Players quarreling with each other in the sports field is a typical scene, especially when they are under pressure. However, sometimes, the situation gets tricky when the calmest players burst into anger. That’s what the New York Yankees players witnessed during the 2001 World Series when the Yankees’ high-tension atmosphere even enraged the team’s calmest player, Derek Jeter.

Captain Clutch has always been renowned for his patience and politeness. He was hardly involved in any controversies, ever. However, in his biography, The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter, the author, Ian O’Connor, described a situation that even fueled the 14x All-Star to argue harshly with one of his teammates.

Derek Jeter Behaved Harshly With Teammates During 2001 World Series Pre-Match

Derek Jeter was never spotted shouting at his teammates in public. However, a similar incident happened during the 2001 World Series, during their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. While the Bronx Bombers were already under pressure and the opponent was taking the lead, the 5x All-Star Bernie Williams’ late entry to the practice session made Jeter mad at him, shouting and bursting into anger, read page 182. During the practice session, when the Yankees were stretching, the 5x World Series Champion noticed the absence of Williams and asked, “Where the hell is he?”

His absence made Jeter furious, and when finally, Bernie arrived, Jeter burst out in anger, saying, “Where the hell have you been?” Of course, the Center Fielder was nervous about finding the 14x All-Star furious and gave some reasons, that, instead of convincing Jeter, fueled his anger, making him jump over him, shouting, “What do you think you’re doing here?” He continued, “We’re trying to win a championship, and this is unacceptable. . . . There’s no more important place for you to be than right here with your team for this game.”

Jeter was never been a rude and harsh leader to scold teammates for trivial reasons. He didn’t even speak in the team meetings much. However, it was only Bernie who got scolded by the leader several times, though these incidents never reached to media. The book said, “No news media members were present, and Jeter did not mean for it to become public knowledge.”  However, Jeter’s efforts didn’t bring fruit in the 2001 World Series.

The New York Yankees Lost the 2001 World Series to Arizona Diamondbacks

The 2001 World Series had one of the best playoffs between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The now-27x World Series Champion New York Yankees was in peak form then still the underdog Diamondbacks took the trophy in a 4-3 win. Initially, the fight was tough.

Read More: Derek Jeter Opened Up on Painful 9-Year World Series Drought While Revealing Seemingly Unconquerable Road to Victory

Arizona started the series with two-game leads. However, in the third game, the Yankees cut their lead to 1-2. The situation rapidly changed for Bombers in the next games when they got the lead. When it was a must-win situation for the Diamondbacks, they nailed it and won the trophy in the last two games of the series.

A few media houses and news websites chose the last game of this series to be one of the best Post-Season games of that decade. What do you think of Jeter being angry with a teammate, breaking his familiar image? Share your views with us.

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