June 26th, 1974. In a hospital in Pequannock, New Jersey, Charles and Dot Jeter welcome their first child into the world, a boy.
1991. Dick Groch, a scout for a certain MLB team, begins to take notice of a highly athletic shortstop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He begins to get to know the young kid, and notices something about him that he likes. He begins trying to sell this to the brass of his team.
1992 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. With the 6th pick in the first round, the New York Yankees select a skinny biracial kid that almost got picked by the Houston Astros or Cincinnati Reds; almost by fate or destiny, he was still available at that point.
May 30th, 1995. A bright-eyed, lanky kid playing shortstop steps to the plate for the New York Yankees at the Kingdome, the old stadium for the Seattle Mariners. He hits a single off of Tim Belcher for his first career hit.
Early 1996. Joe Torre, the newly-hired and already disrespected manager of the Yankees, decides to give the job of starting shortstops to the young man who made his largely unnoticed debut the previous season.
October 26th, 2000. After the Yankees put the finishing touches on their 4th World Series title in the previous 5 years, the staple of those dynastic teams becomes the first player in history to win the All-Star Game MVP award and the World Series MVP award in the same year.
Opening Day of the 2003 season. For the first time in his career, the boy from Kalamazoo goes onto the disabled list with a dislocated shoulder. This would be only 1 of 2 times this has happened in his career to this point.
June 3rd, 2003. After returning from his sole DL stint at the time, the late George Steinbrenner names the already-revered shortstop the 11th captain in Yankees history, and the first since Don Mattingly's last season in 1995.
September 11th, 2009. En route to his 5th championship, and 8 years to the day that a tragic terrorist attack severely damaged the city he loves so dearly, the aging "Boy Wonder" passes the Iron Horse to become the all-time hits leader in a franchise that's seen some of the most historic players ever.
July 9th, 2011. To add an exclamation point to his Hall of Fame-worthy career, Derek Sanderson Jeter hits a home run to record his 3,000th hit, just the 28th player in baseball history to reach this plateau, and the first one to do it as a Yankee.
Need I say more? Congratulations, Derek Jeter. Go Yankees.
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