Derek Sanderson Jeter was born on June 26, 1974, in Pequannok, New Jersey. At an early age, Jeter showed that he had all the makings of a baseball great. His family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan when he was four so his father could complete his masters at Western Michigan. Detroit was only a couple of hours away from where they lived, and his father often took him to Detroit Tigers games. Even though, he loved the New York Yankees and his favorite player was Dave Winfield. During his senior year at Kalamazoo Central High School, he won several national sports awards, including being named the American High School Coaches Association's 1992 "High School Player of the Year," the 1992 "Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year" and USA Today's "High School Player of the Year." He was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1992 and decided to take the $700,000 offer over a full-ride to the University of Michigan (Derek Jeter., 2013).
Jeter was picked by the New York Yankees in the June 1992 draft. He first played in the minor leagues, hitting .295 with five home runs during the 1993 season. And Jeter's performance on the field only improved the next year. In 1994, he was selected as "Minor League Player of the Year" by several publications, including The Sporting News and Baseball America. In 1995, he was called up to the major leagues when Yankees shortstop Tony Fernandez was put on the