Aggressive style gets him three hits, MVP award.
Posted on July 11, 2000
By Jonathan Mayo
ATLANTA -- Derek Jeter was carrying an All-Star 0-fer around his neck and he wanted to get rid of it quickly. With two strikeouts in two previous at-bats, he hadn't even hit a ball in fair territory"I wanted to put the ball in play and swing early in the count," Jeter said.
The strategy worked well. Jeter went 3-for-3 and drove in two runs to lead the American League to a 6-2 victory and pick up the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player trophy. Suddenly, Jeter is carrying a gaudy .600 All-Star batting average.
Jeter's perfect day didn't exactly come against slouches on the mound. He doubled off Randy Johnson in the first, singled off Kevin Brown in the third and hit a two-run single off Al Leiter in the fourth.
"I have the same game plan against everyone," admitted Jeter, who also scored a run for the AL. "I'm a free swinger. I think everyone in the American League knows that. Maybe everyone in both leagues knows that."
JETER DIDN'T WASTE MUCH TIME in the first against the Big Unit. He swung at the first pitch and fouled it back. After taking a pitch out of the strike zone, he doubled to left for his first hit.
"Maybe it was a fastball," Jeter said. "I don't know. I was just hacking. I thought about bunting, but Randy's not a good guy to bunt against."
"He's a great hitter," Johnson said during his post-performance press conference. "I mean, what is he? Three-for-three right now? He could be hitting as we speak."
Jeter was already out of the game by that time, but not before he had inflicted some more damage. He acted early again in the third inning against Brown, swinging at the first pitch and lining it up the middle for a single. He eventually came around to tie the score at 1.
Then came the big hit in the fourth. Facing Leiter, Jeter again swung at the first pitch and hit a flare into center that drove in the two go-ahead runs for the AL and more or less cemented the MVP honor.
"It was a cutter," Jeter said of Leiter's bread-and-butter pitch that tails into right-handed batters. "He does it every time. I try to lay off it. I didn't hit it well. I just hit it in a good spot.""It was a cutter," Jeter said of Leiter's bread-and-butter pitch that tails into right-handed batters. "He does it every time. I try to lay off it. I didn't hit it well. I just hit it in a good spot."
THE YANKEES MIGHT BE IN a good spot, despite their early-season struggles. Even though some think they haven't played up to championship form, they're still where they usually are: at the top of the AL East.
"Everyone is talking about how much we're struggling, but we're tied for first," Jeter said defensively. "It's not easy to win games. Maybe we made it look a little easier, but it's not. We're playing a lot better the last couple of weeks and hopefully it will carry over in the second half of the season."
Jeter, who was thrust into a starting role because his buddy Alex Rodriguez sat out with a concussion, certainly hopes that his All-Star performance carries over. But whatever happens, you know he won't keep the bat on the shoulder for very long, no matter who's pitching.
"When you're facing three guys like that, you want to swing early," Jeter said. "If you fall behind in the count, you're in trouble.
"You want to have fun, but you want to do well. The number one priority is to come out here and give the fans a good show."
Mission accomplished.
