Jeter more than magic on the field

Sept. 14--NEW YORK -- You know about Mr. November and The Flip and The Dive. You might recall the Saturday afternoon in the Bronx when Derek Jeter crafted a fairy tale performance with a home run off David Price for the 3,000th hit of his fabled career.

You are aware of the five World Series rings, the larger-than-life mansion in Tampa and Nike's RE2PECT tribute.

But do you know about the students who attend St. Pete Claver Catholic School in Tampa on scholarships provided by Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation? Or the two recipients each year of the Derek Jeter/Hillsborough Education Foundation Scholarship?

How about the thousands of at-risk kids who have received help during the last 10 years at the Derek Jeter Center at Phoenix House in Tampa?

"There would be no Phoenix House adolescent program without Jeter's foundation," Pat McEneaney, senior vice president of the Florida region for Phoenix House. "We receive insurance and funding from other sources, but it's not enough to pay the bills, and every year the Jeter foundation supports us."

Jeter's farewell tour arrives at Tropicana Field on Monday when the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays open a three-game series. The Yankee shortstop and captain will be toasted by the Rays before Tuesday's game.

The Trop will vibrate with chants of "Der-ek Je-ter! Der-ek Je-ter!" for three more days.

By the end of this month, Jeter will be a retired baseball player, and like a good number of retirees from up north, he will settle into his home in Tampa for the next chapter of his life.

And in that chapter, Jeter will continue to reach out to the girls and boys of this area who can use a hand.

"It's a no-brainier for me," Jeter said during the Yankees' last trip to the Trop. "It's important to me. It's important to my family."

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It started in Kalamazoo, Mich., where Jeter grew up dreaming of being a New York Yankee like his idol, Dave Winfield, whose Hall of Fame career included a stop in the Bronx. It also included the Winfield Foundation, which provides services to underprivileged children and families in need.

"I don't remember when it was exactly, but he did tell my parents that if he ever played for the Yankees he was going to start his own foundation like Dave Winfield," younger sister Sharlee Jeter said. "It was his rookie year when he sat down with my dad and said, 'I'm ready to start my own foundation.' "

Sharlee is the president of the Turn 2 Foundation, which has programs in New York City, western Michigan and Tampa.

It doesn't surprise Sharlee Jeter that her brother is active in charitable work, since that was a major part of their childhood.

"We had to," she said. "My parents made sure we lived by the, 'If you have a lot, you give a lot, if you have a little, you give a little.' You may not have money, but you do have time and you have effort and you can do good whether it's by helping someone out, do a little extra here, or feeding the homeless. We had to do that. That was something that was just part of living, part of our social sensibility."

Derek Jeter has had a home in Tampa since 1994 so he could spend the winters working out at the Yankees' minor-league complex. Once he got his foundation running in western Michigan, where he grew up, and New York, where he worked, he said the obvious move was to start a branch in the city where he spends the offseasons.

The Derek Jeter Center at Phoenix House, which opened in 2004, is the signature program. The center treats about 450 kids per year who are trying to recover from alcohol and drug abuse. The Turn 2 Foundation provides motivational speakers as well as tickets to Yankees spring training games and Rays games at the Trop.

"In 10 years, (5,000) to 6,000 kids have gone through our door because of him," McEneaney said.

There is also Girls on the Run, which introduces girls in third, fourth and fifth grades to running as a means of staying fit and developing character. In addition to the scholarship programs, Jeter's foundation also runs an annual four-day baseball clinic with the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department.

"He does care about the community," Sharlee Jeter said. "He cares about the kids coming up behind him and him representing something to look to that they can emulate."

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Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said he has never heard another player utter a discouraging word about Jeter. Ever. No, "He big-timed me," or "He thinks he's bigger than the game," or simply, "What a jerk."

"There's none of that out there," Longoria said, "and for playing in that (New York) market, that atmosphere, for as long as he has and for everything he's done and for nobody to have anything bad to say about you is a pretty good testament as to what kind of guy he is."

It's hard to argue against Jeter's success. He won four World Series titles in his first five years in the big leagues. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1996, the year he won his first World Series title. He was the World Series MVP in 2000, the same year he was the All-Star Game MVP, making him the only player in major-league history to turn that trick.

He has the most career hits of any Yankee and will finish sixth on baseball's all-time hits list.

He's a 14-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner.

Jeter is also the face of a franchise that has some familiar faces.

"The things that he does on the field he's been recognized for, but this guy was the complete professional on and off the field," Rays third-base coach Tom Foley said. "And you never hear a bad thing come out of his mouth. All the right answers. Just a consummate professional. A real good guy. Just a smile on his face all the time. Just a great competitor. It was fun to watch him play. Obviously it wasn't fun all the time, because he kicked our butts."

Jeter always had a knack for the theatrical.

His post-midnight homer in 2001 ended Game 4 of the World Series, which began on Oct. 31 and earned him the nickname, "Mr. November."

Earlier that postseason, Jeter raced across the infield to catch up to an errant throw near the first-base line, flipped the ball backhand to catcher Jorge Posada, who was able to tag Oakland'sJeremy Giambi. Hence, The Flip.

Then there was The Dive, where Jeter ended up face-first in the third-base stands after racing to catch a foul ball at Yankee Stadium against Boston in 2004.

"He's been one of those guys that's always at the right place at the right time for a long time," Rays utility fielder Ben Zobrist said. "When we're playing against him, it's one of those things where I hope we avoid him being in the situation we don't want him in, just because he's done it so many times, come through in a clutch situation. 'Clutch' is another word I think of when I think of him. Just a clutch player."

And when it was time for Jeter to collect his 3,000th hit, he did so with a home run off David Price during part of a 5-for-5 day against the Rays on a sun-splashed July afternoon in 2011 at Yankee Stadium.

Rays TV analyst Brian Anderson was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks and sitting in the visitor's bullpen that moment Jeter became Mr. November. He's followed Jeter's career from the start to what is now the finish, and he has marveled at what Jeter has accomplished.

"What he's done, in the city he has done it in, playing the position he plays with absolutely no undue negative story lines and scrutiny is amazing," Anderson said. "And, not only did he do it that long in that city, but think of all the clutch moments. Think of his 3,000th hit. A homer off Price. I'm sorry, is that cool? Mr. November. How about the option-pitch flip? Or smash your face diving into the stands. I mean, it's just one thing after another. How about his last time (at Tropicana Field)? He comes up in a big spot against (Jake) McGee and shoots the single to right field that scores the winning run. Of course he did. That's what he does, and he does it all the time, and he does it without any kind of fanfare to himself."

Sharlee Jeter understands why her brother garners so much respect from his opponents.

"I truly believe it's because he has the same respect for the league," she said. "I think it definitely goes both ways."

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Among the activities Jeter busied himself with in high school was tutoring fellow students at Kalamazoo'sCentral High in computer science and math.

Rays catcher Jose Molina, who played two seasons with Jeter in New York, said Jeter is the same way with his teammates. One day, Jeter is spending time with a rookie struggling to make it in the big leagues. The next, he is helping a veteran try to recapture the skills of his youth.

"When he has to be straight-up and serious, he is. When he needs to be a clown, he is. When he needs to be anything for the team, he will be," Molina said. "I think the last person he thinks about is him. When anyone does that, I think a lot of special things happen in your life. He is one of the unique players in this era.

"Hopefully, we see some guys like him in the future."

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