Why does jeter wear number 2

The decision to strip Jeter of No. Prior apparently wasn't impressed in by Jeter, who hit. It was Priore who gave Bernie Williams a high number when he was a touted center fielder prospect in Louis Cardinals, so Williams would get No. In the spring of , Priore decided to switch Jeter to No. Jeter wasn't happy when first seeing it. I was caught by surprise that he was so locked in on No. He's a giant. But was it the way he played, the way he carried himself? Jeter: I think so, you know, it's -- and the more I learned about him, you know, you see he's drafted in all three sports.

He was just the ultimate athlete and, you know, to this day, he's just the only athlete to be drafted in all three. So, yeah, I think his size stood out first and foremost. And he was big. He was big on the Yankees. Ravech: He was. When you said you always loved the Yankees and you watched Winfield, was that when you think the seed was planted or did you, at that age -- what are you at that age?

Jeter: So, you know, someone asked me an interesting question one time when I was playing, they said, what's your first memory? And they say that your first memories usually come about when you're 4 to 5 years old. Mine was when my younger sister was born. It's the first thing I can remember. But as far back as I can remember, in terms of baseball, is I wanted to be a Yankee. Ravech: Did you ever have any roadblocks at that age where you said, oh my gosh, that guy is better than I am.

This isn't going to happen. Was there ever any of those things? Jeter: Well, you know, sports is a little bit different nowadays than it was. You know, I never wanted to be that guy that said, "Well, you know, back when I played it was different," but back when I played, you know, when you're young, I played almost 12 games a year until I was in high school.

I mean, you play all different sports. More importantly, you played it outside. So, you know, [when I say] outside, I mean, unorganized.

I was just out there with friends. But, yeah, you have your dreams and your aspirations and your goals and, you know, you hear people laugh at you and tell you to put real things, real thoughts in your head. And no one from Kalamazoo, Michigan, is going to be able to play for the New York Yankees , but I used that as motivation. Ravech: Who encouraged you at that point to continue, or was it just you in your bedroom at night, eyes open looking up at the ceiling saying, "Yup, I'm going to do this?

Jeter: My parents. You know, my parents were very supportive. You know, they're big on, you can accomplish anything if you set your mind to it, and you work harder than everyone else.

So, that's a good feeling when you come home and you have the people that are closest to you telling you that you can accomplish this goal. But they wouldn't allow me to ever make excuses. And, you know, I couldn't use, you know, coming from Kalamazoo, a small town, I couldn't use that as an excuse. You know, you're playing people in Kalamazoo in the small little league, and they tell you, "Well, there's people better in Florida and California, yet they continue to work. Ravech: Your dad is a substance-abuse counselor.

Your mom is an accountant. Did their careers in any way, do you think, assist in, "Hey, we're raising a great son, but a baseball player? We don't have that necessarily as our dreams, and yet this is our son's dream.

Jeter: In their mind, you know, I don't want to speak for them, but they never looked at it as they were raising a baseball player. I think they were trying to raise good people, me and my sister, as well. And, you know, they always told me, you can do anything you want to do. We're going to be supportive as long as you work at it.

And if we see that you're not working at it, we're going to tell you you need to pick another career path. But I worked hard at it, and they were there for me. Ravech: The contract that everybody seems to know about between you and your parents, did you actually sign it?

Jeter: The first contract I've ever signed was with my parents, and they used to, before every school year, they'd map out, you know, what our grades had to be in order to play sports, our after-school programs, respect. They taught us accountability, responsibility and curfews.

And, you know, I never really tried to argue with the contract, with the exception of the curfews I tried to change. But, I think, you know, it taught us to stay grounded. It taught us, you know, you need to set goals and work hard at them and, you know, at the time you don't really understand it, but looking back on it, you realize that it really built the framework for success. Jeter: I was so, you know, I was so afraid of disappointing my parents, and to this day, it's something that's in the back of my mind.

It sounds strange saying it because I'm 42 years old, but you know, every time I do something I try to think, what would my parents, how would they react to it? So, I guess I was ruled by fear when I was younger. Ravech: Are there lessons beyond the accountability that you will recite when you become a dad -- and I don't want to get to that part yet -- but are there things that they planted in there that you made sure you used as you're growing up and as you become a parent?

Jeter: Yeah, I mean, I'm sure I'll try to do as many things as I can remember that they did, you know, when we were growing up, but, you know, I don't know, man. I've always prided myself on being prepared, you know. If I'm playing a game, I want to make sure I know in this particular situation what I'm going to do.

And you're talking about being a parent. I have -- there's no preparation. I think you just sort of fall into it. So, I hope I do a good job. Jeter: I appreciate that. Worst-case scenario, I'll just drop him off at my parents' house. Ravech: Let them deal with it, because they did such a good job the first time. That's part of the Derek Jeter thing, is preparation. And yet, you go through these ages and stages and somehow you get to play for the team that you dreamed about when you were young.

How does that happen? Jeter: A lot of good fortune, I mean, to say the least. You know, you get to the draft, it's a crapshoot. You know, I never even thought I would have the opportunity, like, for the Yankees. I thought I was going for another team.

But everything aligns. The stars aligned, I guess, but a lot of luck. He had career homers, ranking him sixth all-time. Jackson reached the Hall of Fame in , the same year the Yankees retired his number.

The left-handed Pettitte is the only player at his position drafted by the Yankees to win games. He pitched on five World Series championship teams from to their most recent run in The Yankees retired his number in His best season came in , when he went with a 1. Guidry once struck out 18 in a game. Al Bello, Associated Press photo.

Jeter has five teammates, including Williams, with retired jerseys. The switch-hitting Williams played his entire career with the Yankees, just like Jeter, for 16 seasons through Every dollar buys four meals for the hungry.

Click here to donate. All rights reserved About Us. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Ad Choices. Skip to Main Content. Derek Jeter's No. Derek Jeter played just 15 games for the New York Yankees in and hit. So he ordered assistant equipment manager Rob Cucuzza to put a No.

Louis Cardinals. He wanted Jeter to wear No. I think Derek was a little scared to go to Nick.