from the New York Times

October 16, 2001

By STEVE POPPER

Derek Jeter is the latest in the line of Yankee luminaries, so it was a fitting, if odd, moment when the Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto paid homage to him before Game 5 in the division series against Oakland last night at Yankee Stadium. Rizzuto, on the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, dismissed the windup and pitch and instead mimicked Jeter's sensational defensive play in Game 3, when he backhanded the ball to the plate. That play allowed catcher Jorge Posada to tag out Jeremy Giambi.

The task might be a bit tougher for the 83-year-old Rizzuto if he ever wants to emulate Jeter's latest highlight.

Last night in the eighth inning, Jeter displayed a toughness and determination that few would be able to duplicate. And it is safe to guess that fewer would even bother to try.

After he had already knocked in the go-ahead run four innings earlier, Jeter and the Yankees were trying to preserve their tenuous two-run advantage. Jason Giambi led off the inning with a single against Mariano Rivera, and Terrence Long came up as the tying run. He lofted a foul pop toward the third-base line that veered into the stands. Jeter burst toward the wall, calling off Scott Brosius. He leaned into the stands as the ball plopped into his glove. Then Jeter flipped onto his back onto the cement surface.

Brosius took the ball from him and threw a bullet to second base, trying unsuccessfully to catch Eric Chavez, who was tagging up from first. Concrete could not slow Jeter any more than the A's could.

"Derek, from 1996 when I first met the young man, has that look in his eye," Yankees Manager Joe Torre said. "It's a look that you don't teach. It's a look that you have, that fire in your belly, that love for competition. This kid, with that play the other day thinks cool in hot situations. He never had regard for putting his body in peril, or looking bad with a bad swing. We have many of them, but he's a true leader at a very early age."

But if Jeter is setting new standards, he still takes his place humbly. He refers to Rizzuto as Mr. Rizzuto, and to his manager as Mr. Torre. And like his flip in Game 3, which displayed an uncanny penchant for being in the right place at the right time, last night's catch was just another play to Jeter.

"When you're playing in postseason, you have to take every out," Jeter said. "If there is an opportunity to have an out, especially with that team, a runner on base and anyone is capable of hitting it out of the park, you just try to make the catch."

The highlight reels are a thought for another day, especially for someone who has four World Series rings in his five major league seasons. Jeter ignored the historical implications of his defensive efforts as well as the first-inning single that tied Pete Rose for the career record for most postseason hits with 86, or the 87th hit that followed in the sixth inning when he doubled to move alone to the top of the list.

Last night, Jeter said he was concerned only with getting an out, getting a victory and moving on.

Asked if he realized how difficult the catch was or how difficult the Yankees entire task was, coming back from a two-game deficit to capture the three-of-five-game series, he replied: "No. I mean, probably when you get a chance to reflect on it when the season is over, then you realize how difficult it was. We're good at taking it one game at a time.

"We were down two games and we had Mussina on the mound. That was a huge game for us to get us back in the series. Once we won that game, I think everyone in here felt as though we were going to win."

It can feel that way when one wins as often as Jeter has. When questions raised the notion of momentum or breaks going the Yankees way, his game face drew as taut as it had on the field.

"You make your own breaks," Jeter said. "You have to worry about the things you can control, but I think you go out and make your own breaks."

Jeter then was ordered to report to the trainer's room to get iced. It was that sort of night, when he had to ignore the begging chant of the crowd for a curtain call after the catch because he was being inspected by the trainer.

And if Jeter could not appreciate the significance of his accomplishments, the defensive gems or the .444 batting average in the series, others did.

"I've never seen an athlete dominate any sport - football, basketball, or baseball - the way he did in this playoff series," George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' owner, said.