3 Chapter 2 Major League Dreams

Chapter 2 Major League Dreams When the Jeters first moved to Michigan, they lived in an apartment complex. Derek's friends would bike over to play baseball. They'd head to a grassy area everyone called Derek Jeter's hill, because he was out there so often. Derek would get as many kids together as he could. Younger, older, boy, girl—he didn't care. He was all about baseball. One night, Derek went to his parents' room and made an announcement: He was going to play for the New York Yankees. Derek was a skinny eight-year-old. He was wearing pajamas. He didn't look anything like a major league ballplayer. But his parents listened carefully.

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They explained what it would take for it to happen. That Derek would be competing with athletes from all over the world. And even though he was a top player in his Little League, the other players would be top players, too. Derek knew he'd have to work hard. And he understood about competition. He and his dad played games all the time. Checkers. Card games. They even watched TV game shows together, guessing at answers. Charles never played badly just to let Derek win. Derek had to win fair and square.

When Derek was ten and visiting New Jersey, he learned more about hard work. His grandpa Sonny took him to his job one day. Just like Sonny always did, they woke up at 4:30 in the morning. Sonny took care of a church and school. He painted walls, made repairs, and kept everything in shape. When Derek got out of the car, it was hot and muggy. Mosquitoes buzzed all around. Sonny led him to the football field. Derek's job: to mow the grass.

The grass came up to Derek's knees. And the lawn mower didn't have a motor. Small, skinny Derek had to push it back and forth, back and forth. It took all his strength. For six hours, Derek mowed the field. He sweated. He ached. But he kept going. When he was done, he felt proud. He finished the job all by himself. But he realized something.

If he was going to work that hard, he'd much rather be doing something he enjoyed . . . like playing baseball. About that same time, Derek's family moved to their first house. It was right behind the public high school, Kalamazoo Central. Derek could climb the backyard fence and use all the school fields. In fact, the whole family would hop the fence to play baseball and softball. Sharlee was shaping up to be a star softball shortstop.