On Thursday, September 25th, New York Yankee captain Derek Jeter will play his last regular season game in pinstripes. Jeter started his major league career as a Yankee and he'll retire from baseball as a Yankee, following in the footsteps of Lou Gherig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and other career Yankees. Derek Jeter pledged allegience to the team at a young age; although he was raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Jeter was born in New Jersey and spent summers visiting his grandparents in the Garden State and rooting for the Yankees. To honor Jeter's tenure in the Bronx, I thought it would be nice to pull quotes from journalists who have covered Jeter's career, from Jeter's teammates, and from Jeter himself. His name has appeared in newspapers since 1992, when as a 17 year-old in Michigan, he was the Yankee's sixth overall pick in the amateur draft. The stories and quotes below come from the Library's collection of online national and regional newspapers in databases like Newspaper Source, National Newspapers Premier, InfoTrac Newstand, and New York Newspapers. Nearly all of the newspapers, despite their geographic coverage and their reader's team loyalties, have written about the Yankee shortstop with equal parts envy, admiration, and re2pect.

Pre-Yankees

Yankee's Midwest Scout Dick Grouch remembering what it was like to see Derek Jeter play in high school:

"You see a lot of players, but you hardly ever see that catlike athletic ability. It was like test-driving a fast new Ferrari. You know the difference between a Ferrari and a Chevette." ("Yankees Can Hang Banner on Jeter." Orange County Register, October 27, 2000.)

Rookie Year

"He arrived in New York, the toughest town in the league, and handled all it had to give him—the public spotlight, the media attention, the critical fans -- with a skill the impressed even the most seasoned of Yankee veterans." ("Young Jeter is Wise Beyond his Years." Washington Post. October 20, 1996)

On Derek Jeter as Rookie of the Year possibility:

"There is no hype like New York hype, and as with anything oversold, the projections for Yankee's shortstop Derek Jeter are a fraction of the truth. Yet, a fraction of Jeter's portfolio would endorse the 21-year-old as the first Yankee rookie of the year since Dave Righetti in 1981." ("Hype Puts Jeter at the Top of the Class." The Atlanta Journal for the Atlanta Constitution, March 31, 1996).

Jack Curry of the New York Times on Jeter's first year:

"You are Derek Jeter. You will live in Manhattan and do not expect to be overwhelmed because you will remain reserved and because there are several relatives in New Jersey who will dispense advice. You will not change because you cannot. The front door in Kalamazoo does not expand." ("Jeter Goes Quietly About Business." New York Times. April 7, 1996)

Jeter's Character

"Somehow it doesn't change him. This is the magic of Jeter, his essence. He still calls his manager, "Mr. Torre," still refuses to stop driving his Mitsubishi with 70,000 miles, still stays the longest to sign autographs at Legends Field. 'If you're looking for someone with complaints about this job, I have none,' he said." (The [Hackensack, NJ] Record, February 23, 1999)

"He's handsome, he hits, he's so hip he doesn't even belong in a baseball clubhouse. Everyone loves Jeter - and there's an army of women in love, who'd consider a date with the shortstop the equivalent of a winning Powerball ticket." (The [Hackensack, NJ] Record, August 4, 1999)

Fellow players on Jeter

Gary Sheffield on Jeter

"Now that I've played with him, I know what he's made of and I respect him even more. It's just a matter of letting him lead, and we'll follow.'' ("Jeter Not Satisfied." New York Post. October 6, 2004)

Alex Rodriguez on whether Derek Jeter would ever play for another team

"That will never happen. I never see Derek playing in another uniform. I see him forever, for the next thousand years in pinstripes. Even when he's 50 or 60, who knows, he'll still be probably helping out and being a leader and being a captain to the Yankees franchise." ("Derek Jeter Calls Uniform Firestorm 'Comical.'" Newsday, September 22, 2012)

Joe Torre on Jeter:

"This kid, the tougher the situation, the more fire he gets in his eyes. You don't teach that. It's something you have to be born with. His parents are a big part of that." ("Torre, Jeter Relationship a Most Special One." Dallas Morning News, October 27, 2000).

Tom Seaver on Jeter

"He's done it in the big city, for one team that wears a uniform of greatness. He has no marks against him. He has the numbers. And he wins. He's a class act all the way. A pro's pro, a gentleman's gentleman. If you're starting a franchise, who do want as your first pick? I'll take Jeter, thank you. And I'm sure I wouldn't get too many arguments." ("Tom Seaver Says Derek Jeter Should Get 100% of Hall of Fame Vote." Newsday, July 25, 2014)

Derek Jeter on being a Yankee

"In my opinion, I've had the greatest job in the world. I got a chance to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees, and there's only one of those. And I always felt as though it was my job, was to try to provide joy and entertainment for you guys, but it can't compare to what you brought me. So for that, thank you very much." ("Derek Jeter Day Honors the Captain at Yankee Stadium." Newsday, September 7, 2014).