"God, I hope I wear this jersey forever."

"If you're going to play at all, you're out to win. Baseball, board games, playing Jeopardy, I hate to lose."

"I have the greatest job in the world. Only one person can have it. You have shortstops on other teams-I'm not knocking other teams-but there's only one shortstop on the Yankees."

"I like to dance and sing when there's no one around, but, if I'm out, I'm really shy about it. So it takes a lot to get me going, but I enjoy being around music."

"It doesn't feel different being here (at the All-Star Game) I feel like I'm on an All-Star team everyday."

"I think everyone is ticklish. You just gotta find the right spots."

"It took him (Jim Leyritz, who had gone 2,156 at-bats, without a triple) seventy-five steps to get from third to home. I thought we were going to have to go out there and help him. A lot of players start thinking double then maybe wind up with a triple because the outfielder slips."

"My dad had been shortstop when he was in college, and you know, when you're a kid, you want to be just like your dad."

"My hero's, my dreams, and my future lie in Yankee Stadium and they can't take that from me."

"My office is at Yankee stadium. Yes, dreams do come true."

"The guy's (Shane Spencer) ridiculous. No one hits home runs like that. I'm telling you, man, it's ridiculous."

"The Yankees have twenty-five heroes."

"We just want to win. That's the bottom line. I think a lot of times people may become content with one championship or a little bit of success, but we don't really reflect on what we've done in the past. We focus on the present."

"Yankee Stadium is my favorite stadium; I'm not going to lie to you. There's a certain feel you get in Yankee Stadium."

"You forget about it whether it was 15-2 or 3-2. It's still a loss. It doesn't matter what the score was if we win tomorrow."

"You gotta have fun. Regardless of how you look at it, we're playing a game. It's a business, it's our job, but I don't think you can do well unless you're having fun."

"Derek Jeter is off the disabled list and Chuck Knoblauch is not throwing the ball away. All is right with the world." - Actress Sarah Jessica Parker

"Hanging out with him sucks because all the women flock to him. Let's see, he's been on the cover of GQ, is rich and famous, hits for average and power and is a helluva nice guy." - Tim Raines

"He'd been summoned by the baseball gods; to carry the torch, to help save the team and the stadium and maybe even the game of baseball itself." - Peter Richmond in GQ Magazine (September 1998)

"He gets better every year, that's what's remarkable about him. Some guys are good and stay good. Some guys are good and get better. He reminds me of Kareem. Hubie Brown said that Kareem worked at the beginning of every season to improve some facet of his game. It's that way with the best, whatever the profession. That's the way this kid is." Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes

"He really knows how to work the pitcher and work the count that's become a trademark of the Yankees and a big reason why they're able to get rid of starters by the fifth inning so many times. That's 'professional' hitting." - ESPN Analyst Dave Campbell

"He's a hunk, and I don't even like that word. Women like guys who have a big presence but sort of play it down. It's very appealing." - Actress Kim Basinger

"He's a natural. Young. Handsome. He can play his ass off, playing shortstop for the Yankees. What more do you want? The fact that he's here in the greatest sports town-greatest city in the world-makes it that much better." - Movie Director Spike Lee

"He's an incredible talent. I'm a lifetime Baltimore Orioles fan, so he's like my worst nightmare." - Actor Ed Norton

"He's basically shy. And I know most people don't see him that way. He's so fluid among people. He knows what he is as far as the matinee idol stuff, and he wears it well. He has no pretenses. He's real. He enjoys himself and makes it easy for others to enjoy him." - Yankees Manager Joe Torre

"He's legit. He's versatile, you can see him on the cover of GQ, then the next week he's on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He's focused, he works hard. I'm proud of him, I'm glad we're working together." - Basketball Legend Michael Jordan

"He's rather unique for a young man in the 1990s. Endowed as he is with all that talent, all that money and such impeccable manners-that makes him an anachronism. In this era of boorish athletes, obnoxious fans, greedy owners and shattered myths, here's a hero who's actually polite, and that has to have come from good parenting. You can't compare him to Joe DiMaggio, for DiMaggio didn't have bad manners — he had no manners. Where have you gone, man with manners? Here you are, Derek Jeter." - Sportswriter Gay Talese

"I love his work ethic. He has a great attitude. He has the qualities that separate superstars from everyday people, and a lot of it is attributable to his great family background." - Basketball Legend Michael Jordan

"In big games, the action slows down for him where it speeds up for others. I've told him, 'I'll trade my past for your future.'" -Reggie Jackson

"I told him early on to avoid the pitfalls that plagued me. New York is a place that can swallow you up if you're not able to handle the pressure of success-and of failure. He handles it with class and dignity." - Darryl Strawberry

"Jeter is a six-tool player. I've never eaten with him so I can't tell you if he has good table manners, but I would imagine he has those too." - Rangers manager Johnny Oates (1999)

"Legend has it that at the age of five, Derek told everybody he would someday be the Yankees starting shortstop. They laughed then; they're cheering now. No position player has made such a vital contribution in his first year in the Bronx since Joe DiMaggio." - Keith Olbermann on Fox Sports

"The name Derek Jeter is made for stardom. He's got an infectious smile, and he's so handsome and well-behaved. He's just a fine young man who does everything right. He's like Jack Armstrong and Frank Merriwell, guys I grew up rooting for. Some guys come along who just measure up." - Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner

"The thing that sets Derek apart is that he's not afraid to fail." - Charlie Hayes

"This kid, right now, the tougher the situation, the more fire he gets in his eyes. You don't teach that." - Yankees Manager Joe Torre

"What kind of shortstop is Derek Jeter? Well, a very effective one, to be sure. I think he's a sleeker and leaner model of a Cal Ripken. He's out of the Cal Ripken mold in that he's tall and rangy, has a great arm, covers a lot of ground and he's a great offensive player." - Hall of Fame Shortstop Ozzie Smith

"When he was in eighth grade and was about to switch from parochial school to a public school, we sent him over to the Y to play basketball against older kids as a way of toughening him up. He went, but he took his mother with him." - Charles Jeter (Derek Jeter's Father)

Quotes From & About Derek Jeter