Good Sports Art New York Yankees "Jeter Reaching Greatness" Limited Edition Artist Signed and Numbered Lithograph

In March of 1996, the Yankees spring training camp was buzzing with plenty of questions about a young shortstop named Derek Jeter. Could he hit and field well enough at the big league level to replace an injured Tony Fernandez? Was this 21-year-old who grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan ready for the bright lights of New York City? In the first game of the season in Cleveland, Jeter cracked a homer and answered some of the doubters. That rookie season featured nine more homers, 148 hits, an on-base-percentage of .370, and a 17-game hit streak that is second in Yankee history to Joe DiMaggio's 18-game rookie hit streak in 1936. After batting .369 in the 1996 post-season, and being an integral part of a World Championship club, Jeter collected the American League Rookie of the Year trophy as the questions faded. Over the next ten years, Jeter proved his first season was not a fluke with 173 more homers, and a career batting average of .317 in the regular season and a postseason average of .314 in 119 games. The 7-time All Star was the MVP of both the All-Star game and the World Series in 2000, was named the Yankees 11th team captain in 2003, won the Silver Slugger award on ?06, and has been the recipient of 3 consecutive Gold Glove awards. He also has 4 World Series rings. Here, from a game in 1998, he dives to rob a hit from a Minnesota Twin while displaying the range that makes him one of the games best fielding shortstops. The questions are gone, Jeter is the heir to Yankee greatness.