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Jeter steps off the field for Great Names

By Brian Sobotko ’16

Former New York Yankees captain and shortstop Derek Jeter spoke at Hamilton College Wednesday night as this year’s speaker in the College’s Sacerdote Great Names Series. Hamilton originally distributed over 5,000 tickets for the event and anticipated a to-capacity crowd; however, there were handfuls of empty seats, potentially due to the poor weather conditions.

Jeter participated in a wide-ranging discussion moderated by former MLB all star and current Fox analyst Harold Reynolds for about one hour. Reynolds structured the conversation around five topics: upbringing and family, the key to his success (which Reynolds called his focus), Jeter’s philanthropic work through the Turn 2 Foundation, his personal life and the shortstop’s playing career, specifically during his final season.

President Joan Hinde Stewart, in addition to praising his on-field prowess, called Jeter “someone you can admire as a person,” in her fiery introduction.

Jeter credited his family, whom he called “extremely close,” and “always present,” in helping him achieve his goals. His new book The Contract, the debut book in the Jeter Publishing imprint, is inspired by his childhood and highlights hard work and education—both concepts his family emphasized.

Jeter explained that these concepts helped him develop his focus, which fueled his competitive drive. Jeter felt he and the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner had similar mindsets when it came to competition and a desire to win.

Throughout Jeter’s career, the shortstop was active in charity work through the Turn 2 Foundation, an organization he founded in 1996. One subsection of the foundation is Jeter’s Leaders, created to recognize, empower and enhance the skills of high school students. Jeter specifically emphasized the importance of social change and making sure young people’s voices are heard. He referred to athletes’ responsibility to use their platform to inspire conversation, specifically referencing recent events in Ferguson, MO and the death of Eric Garner.

Reynolds noted that Jeter seems to be lowering his guard recently and speaking more on private matters. Jeter disagreed, noting that there are new avenues of his professional life he is open to sharing but emphasized that there is a boundary between everyone’s professional life and private life.

Many wonder what is next for the future hall of famer. In addition to his publishing company, Jeter has launched a digital presence via a website called The Player’s Tribune, a medium designed to communicate athletes’ perspectives on various issues. While Jeter insists he would not coach or manage professionally, his next dream is to be part of an ownership and “call the shots.”

Jeter remarked about the abundance of wealthy Hamilton alumni, joking one of them could help him form an ownership group. Legendary Entertainment CEO Thomas Tull ’92 is already a business partner of Jeter’s. Tull, who is a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a board member for the Baseball Hall of Fame, is an investor in The Player’s Tribune.

In addition to the event in the Field House, Jeter met with a group of student-athletes for a question and answer session.

Stewart acknowledged trustee Sara Weinstein ’02 for helping to make the event possible. Jeter’s honorarium for the event was directed to the Turn 2 Foundation.

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