You can’t take a bad picture of Derek Jeter

Posted on July 7, 2010

Derek Jeter #2 of the New York Yankees waits in the on deck circle against the Oakland Athletics during the game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on July 6, 2010 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

After spending the past two nights shooting the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum I am finally convinced. You just can’t take a bad picture of the Yankees captain, Derek Jeter. I went to the park the past few nights to shoot batting practice and the first three innings. That does not give me much of a chance to get many pictures, but I made the most of my time and the light that is there. I was not even focusing on Jeter. I was shooting everyone, but I couldn’t help running into so many nice pictures of him during the little bit that I shot both nights.

I wrote about the greatness of Jeter back in November of 2009 after the Yankees won the World Series. Jeter is the Yankees. Jeter is the face of the franchise. Jeter is the Joe DiMaggio of this era. Any time I have a chance to photograph him it is a huge deal for me. I am documenting history. I am photographing one of the greatest players to ever put on a uniform.

When I was a much younger photographer I was a brain dead button pusher. I didn’t understand what I was shooting, nor did I appreciate the great players of the day. Sure I knew baseball, but I took it for granted that I was shooting these guys all the time and not relishing the opportunity. Great players would come to town like George Brett, Nolan Ryan, Jim Rice and Pete Rose and I would not seize the moment to photograph these great players in the late 1980’s when I started shooting. I look back now at my archive, and the absence of good pictures of the Hall of Famers from that era and I want to strangle the young photographer (me) who did not go to the ballpark to document these guys.

Things started to click in my brain a few years ago as Ibegan to listen and learn from some veteran photographers and business advisers whom I trusted. My archive of baseball images going back to 1987 became more and more important to me and I realized that I needed to do a better job of documenting the great players of the game, starting from when they were rookies. I look at it like rookie card speculating that baseball card collectors used to do like crazy back in the hey day of card collecting. How many Joe Charboneau rookie cards do you have stashed away in a shoe box under your bed?

With all of this in mind I headed out to the Oakland Coliseum early on Monday and Tuesday afternoons to shoot the Yankees from the time they stepped onto the field to stretch till the time the light disappeared in the third inning and I hit the road. Everywhere I looked there were superstars to shoot in the gray Yankee uniforms. From Alex Rodriguez to Jorge Posada to Curtis Granderson to Mark Teixeira and others there were so many great players to photograph. However, the one who stood head and shoulders above them all was the great Jeter.

Once he comes onto the field for pre-game Jeter is a blur of motion, never standing still for too long. He never hangs out in the dugout. He is always taking ground balls, hitting in the cage or playing catch. He is always playing catch! One of my favorite things about Jeter taking batting practice is that he always takes his helmet off when he is not hitting, and he does not wear sunglasses. As I focus my 400mm lens on him I get so many great expressions. I get the happy, smiling Jeter who is always having fun with his teammates. I also get the stoic Jeter who is the consummate professional, always working on his game.

The cool thing about Jeter, who is the all-time Yankee leader in base hits, is that he understands his place in history and is so respectful of the pinstripes. After longtime Yankee public address announcer Bob Sheppard retired a few years ago Jeter insisted that a tape of Sheppard announcing him be played before his every at bat. I still get goosebumps when I am at the new Yankee Stadium and I hear the voice of God say, “Now batting, the shortstop, numbah two, Derek Jeter, numbah two.” If you have ever heard this you know exactly what I am talking about.

Jeter is Yankee royalty. Just like DiMaggio. Sure, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are unsurpassed in their greatness wearing the Yankees pinstripes, but The Yankee Clipper was different, and so is Jeter. DiMaggio once said “I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee.” Jeter once said “God, I hope I wear this jersey forever.” In my mind Derek you will. Always.