Derek Jeter’s last game as a Yankee will be Sept. 28, against the Red Sox. (Mike Stobe, Getty Images)
New York Times Magazine republished a , when Yankees scout Dick Groch discovered the scrawny high school junior at a talent identification camp.
The “discovery” happened by accident, really. The Yankees were considering a Stanford outfielder named Jeffrey Hammonds and a right-handed pitcher Jim Pittsley as draft picks. But Groch was in the area and decided to stop at this camp “to break up the day.”
And then he saw Jeter, a 159-pound shortstop from Kalamazoo, Mich.
“A Yankee!,” Groch wrote in his report. “A five-tool player. Will be a (major league) star. +5!!”
A year later, a Colorado Rockies scout took notice of the high school shortstop. “This guy is special,” . “You get excited just watching him warm up. All-Star potential at MLB level.”
The Rockies had the 27th pick in the 1992 draft that year and never had a shot at getting Jeter. The Yankees swooped him up at No. 6. Rockies chose John Burke, a Colorado-born pitcher who pitched only 10 career games.
But now, more than 22 years, five World Series titles, 14 all-star appearances and five Gold Gloves later, it seem both scouts nailed their analyses of Jeter.
Here’s a look at that original Rockies report, , president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
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Tags: Colorado Rockies, Cooperstown, Derek Jeter, MLB, The New York Times
