{"id":1126,"date":"2025-05-03T10:58:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T10:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/yankees-derek-jeter-talks-umich-memories-commencement-in-qa-with-the-daily\/"},"modified":"2025-05-03T10:58:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T10:58:50","slug":"yankees-derek-jeter-talks-umich-memories-commencement-in-qa-with-the-daily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/yankees-derek-jeter-talks-umich-memories-commencement-in-qa-with-the-daily\/","title":{"rendered":"Yankees\u2019 Derek Jeter talks UMich memories, commencement in Q&#038;A with The Daily"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>The Michigan Daily sat down Friday afternoon with former<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/yankees?redesign=true\"><em> <\/em><em>New York Yankees<\/em><\/a><em> shortstop and<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/baseballhall.org\/\"><em> <\/em><em>Baseball Hall-of-Famer<\/em><\/a><em> Derek Jeter \u2014 five-time <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/mlb\/news\/derek-jeter-world-series-win-yankees-championships-stats\/076c855ff0982b8720704dd6#:~:text=Jeter%20has%20five%20World%20Series,York's%20past%20five%20championship%20rosters.\"><em>World Series champion<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.upi.com\/Sports_News\/2014\/07\/06\/Derek-Jeter-makes-14th-All-Star-Game\/7421404692685\/\"><em>14-time All-Star<\/em><\/a><em>, and 2025 University of Michigan <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/news-briefs\/umich-announces-commencement-speaker-and-honorary-degree-recipients-for-spring-2025-commencement\/\"><em>commencement speaker<\/em><\/a><em> \u2014 to discuss his return to Ann Arbor, his brief time as a student in 1992 and life after baseball. Jeter is also the co-founder of<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theplayerstribune.com\/\"><em> <\/em><em>The Players\u2019 Tribune<\/em><\/a><em>, founder of the<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/turn-2-foundation\"><em> <\/em><em>Turn 2 Foundation<\/em><\/a><em> and former CEO of the<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/marlins\"><em> <\/em><em>Miami Marlins<\/em><\/a><em> among other entrepreneurial ventures. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Michigan Daily<\/strong>: You grew up in Kalamazoo, went to the University of Michigan for a semester in the fall of<a href=\"https:\/\/mgoblue.com\/news\/2014\/8\/27\/Derek_Jeter_A_Michigan_Man_Despite_Never_Playing_for_U_M\"> 1992<\/a> and now you\u2019re returning to speak at commencement \u2014 what does it feel like to come full circle?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Derek Jeter<\/strong>: To give you just a little background, I signed a letter of intent to come play (at the University), then I was drafted by the Yankees so I went to play professionally. The first offseason, I attended classes here. The next year, I was enrolled, already paid for an apartment with friends and they sent me to play in some instructional league. It was like eight weeks, so I couldn\u2019t take classes, but I lived on campus with no classes and then worked out with the baseball team. So really it was two semesters I was here \u2014 one semester of classes \u2014 but (I) absolutely loved it. That\u2019s why I always loved to come back here. Someone just asked me, \u2018Oh, how does it feel?\u2019 I said, \u2018I don\u2019t know, I can tell you tomorrow,\u2019 but it\u2019s special. My parents are here, my wife\u2019s here, my sister\u2019s coming, so I\u2019m looking forward to it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD<\/strong>: If someone spotted you at the University in the \u201990s, what would they have seen? Where were you eating, studying, hanging out?<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><strong>DJ<\/strong>: I was in Couzens, so it was a little sort of a trek across campus because I had a lot of friends that were in South Quad. But basically I kept to myself \u2014 I was at South Quad, I was in my dorm. I used to wear a Yankee hat all the time, which is kind of funny to think. There\u2019s a lot of New Yorkers here in Ann Arbor. Even back then, there were a lot of New Yorkers at the University of Michigan. I was a homebody for the most part \u2014 I still am \u2014 but I stayed pretty much in the dorm. I wasn\u2019t very exciting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD<\/strong>: U-M students love to romanticize<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/campus-life\/after-hours-at-the-ugli-students-stay-up-late-studying-hope-for-more-open-locations\/\"> long hours<\/a> in the UGLi or<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/campus-life\/umich-game-days-history-tradition-and-community\/\"> game days<\/a> at the Big House. What were some small moments you still remember from your time on campus?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>DJ<\/strong>: Football games. I didn\u2019t miss a football game. I was always at the football games, basketball games. I loved it. \u2026 I probably shouldn\u2019t say this, but I love watching college sports more than professional sports. And the reason why (is) every single game is more meaningful for college athletics in my mind.\u00a0 A football game, you lose a game, it could be your entire season. Professionally, you just gotta get to the playoffs. I just like the meaning behind college sports, so I always love going to the sporting events.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD<\/strong>: At The Players\u2019 Tribune, you\u2019ve helped give athletes a space to tell their stories in their own words \u2014 something student journalists at The Daily are also trying to create: platforms for honest, personal storytelling. Why do you think it\u2019s important for people to share their own stories, and are there particular voices or kinds of stories you think we still don\u2019t hear enough of?<\/p>\n<p><strong>DJ<\/strong>: We started it ten years ago, and I understood that \u2014 and anyone (who) tells you that this is not true is lying to you \u2014 the relationship between the media and athletes (is) fractured. The reason why is there\u2019s no trust. They just don\u2019t trust who they\u2019re talking to, because a lot of times \u2014 not everyone \u2014 but a lot of people are searching for headlines, clickbait. You can sit down and have an interview with someone and the next day you read the article and the article bashes you, and they use your quotes to validate it. That\u2019s how we built the company \u2014 based on trust. We never went into it with an agenda, just keep this in mind. We got to know people, and then if they trust who they\u2019re speaking to, they\u2019ll open up to you and they\u2019ll tell you all kinds of stories because we understood, or I understood, athletes aren\u2019t two-dimensional. They have other views, other beliefs; a lot of times they just aren\u2019t asked about those things. So we looked at it as if we were a compliment to the media because now the media knows what is interesting to the athletes and they would follow-up and ask questions. I would say, in your position, try to just earn people\u2019s trust and don\u2019t go out to get them and be honest with them. It\u2019s not easy to do, but I think once you burn or you lose that trust, you can\u2019t get it back.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><strong>TMD<\/strong>: Thinking about your career \u2014 from your time on the field to your current business ventures \u2014 what do you think the average young student should focus on educationally or experientially to build toward long-term success and leadership, like you\u2019ve done?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>DJ: <\/strong>You have to build relationships, get to know people. Don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions. That\u2019s the biggest thing because I think a lot of times, people are afraid to ask questions when they\u2019re doing something for the first time, but no matter how you look at it, everyone was doing it for the first time at some point. So I always tell people \u2014 ask as many questions as you can and get to know as many people as you can. I think that helps you along. I\u2019ve developed or built relationships during my playing career, I still have (developed them) post career in the business world, and because I took the time to get to know those people, then, you never know what the future may hold but it helps your relationships.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD: <\/strong>If you could relive one day, what day would you pick?<\/p>\n<p><strong>DJ: <\/strong>One day, any day? That\u2019s a good question. Man, oh, man. It\u2019s a tough one because I don\u2019t want to go back because now I have four kids. Everything that happens now is more important than anything I thought was important before. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s one day. I think it\u2019s just moments. My kids are seven, six, three and two. So every day is something new, right? It\u2019s chaos at our house, so I don\u2019t know if I could go back to one \u2014 that\u2019s a tough one. I have to follow-up with you on that.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD:<\/strong> They say hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. In your experience, what would you say is the hardest thing to do in business \u2014 or even in life \u2014 outside of the game?<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><strong>DJ<\/strong>: Patience. Because when you\u2019re playing baseball, you get a hit or you don\u2019t; you make a play or you don\u2019t; you win or lose. When it comes to business, it\u2019s all about patience. When you\u2019re projecting three and four years down the road, you want things to happen right away, and I think that was the hardest thing for me to learn. I still don\u2019t have patience, but it\u2019s the hardest thing for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD: <\/strong>Have you ever given a commencement speech before? How do you prepare for something like that \u2014 and how does it compare, in terms of nerves or preparation, to other big speeches you\u2019ve given, like your <a href=\"https:\/\/bronxpinstripes.com\/p\/derek-jeters-farewell-to-old-yankee-stadium\">farewell to Yankee Stadium<\/a> in 2008?<\/p>\n<p><strong>DJ: <\/strong>No. I don\u2019t know. I think I\u2019ll just wing it. Honestly, Yankee Stadium in 2008, when they told me that we\u2019re closing the stadium down \u2014 this is the night before \u2014 and they said, \u2018We\u2019d like for you to address the crowd afterwards,\u2019 I was like, \u2018All right.\u2019 Then we\u2019re playing the last game. I\u2019d never addressed the crowd before at Yankee Stadium and they took me out of the game in the ninth inning with like two outs left in the game. So I get off the field, I\u2019m on the bench and I got to say something, and I didn\u2019t really prepare for it, so I just sort of winged it. It was only a couple of minutes. But this is a longer thing, so I\u2019ll see how it goes. It\u2019s weird, because my biggest fear growing up was speaking in front of people, or reports in school. I would sweat for two weeks before. My parents would have me do it in front of them, like the night before I had to do it at school and (I) dreaded it. I couldn\u2019t stand it. Now I don\u2019t mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD<\/strong>: Without giving too much away, what message do you hope students take with them after hearing your commencement speech tomorrow?<\/p>\n<p><strong>DJ<\/strong>: It\u2019s basically about how <em>you<\/em> determine your future, right? It\u2019s you, by the choices you make. It\u2019s not anyone else, and you\u2019ve gotten to this point and now you\u2019re going out to the real world. So every choice, big or small, is what determines the path.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><strong>TMD<\/strong>: Do you still watch baseball as a fan these days, outside of any commentating roles? What are your thoughts on some of the recent changes to the game \u2014 like the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/glossary\/rules\/pitch-timer\"> pitch clock<\/a> or even<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/44477141\/mlb-2025-torpedo-bowling-pin-bats-new-york-yankees-taking-baseball\"> torpedo bats<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p><strong>DJ<\/strong>: When I first retired I didn\u2019t watch. I just had to get away from it. Then I was running the team in Miami, so obviously for four and a half years you\u2019re watching games. Now I watch a lot of highlights, but as we get closer to when I do my commentating for Fox, I\u2019ll start watching more. But I\u2019m a fan of the game. It\u2019s just, I have four kids. I go to sleep every night at 8:30. Some of the rules I like. Others are a little strange but every league adapts. Basketball, whether it\u2019s the three point line, or football. I\u2019m for the rules that are speeding up the games because I think this generation, they\u2019re into instant gratification and they don\u2019t wanna sit in a seat and talk to the person on their left and right for three hours. They want to move around and they want things to happen quickly, so I\u2019m in favor of a lot of them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD<\/strong>: What\u2019s your most played song recently?<\/p>\n<p><strong>DJ<\/strong>: Meghan Trainor, \u201cBetter When I\u2019m Dancing,\u201d every single morning. My oldest has a performance coming up in school, and every single morning we listen to this on school drop off and pick up. (But) I\u2019m old school R&amp;B. I got a playlist with 70s, 80s, 90s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMD<\/strong>: If you had to take a random class at the University right now, no grades \u2014 what would it be?<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-5    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><strong>DJ<\/strong>: Maybe Spanish. I know a lot; I can understand a lot of Spanish, and I can speak a little bit because of my playing career, but if I could be fluent in Spanish \u2014 especially living in Miami, too \u2014 that would be a plus.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Daily Senior News Editor Emma Spring can be reached at sprinemm@umich.edu<\/em>.<\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Michigan Daily sat down Friday afternoon with former New York Yankees shortstop and Baseball Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter \u2014 five-time World Series champion, 14-time All-Star, and 2025 University of Michigan commencement speaker \u2014 to discuss his return to Ann Arbor, his brief time as a student in 1992 and life after baseball. Jeter is also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1256,573,1253,1254,1255,49,341,1252],"class_list":{"0":"post-1126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-commencement","9":"tag-daily","10":"tag-derek","11":"tag-jeter","12":"tag-memories","13":"tag-talks","14":"tag-umich","15":"tag-yankees"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1128,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126\/revisions\/1128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}