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In June 1995, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera sat in a New Jersey stand Bennigan, not recognized by customers, having consoled after a very difficult day.
Both had made their major league debuts a month earlier and had just learned that they were referred to minors. In their brief time with the Yankees, Jeter had a batting average of only 250, while pitcher Rivera had a disastrous stint, scoring 12 points in his last two starts.
Rivera apologized to Jeter.
He said that "if he had done better, maybe the two would not have been shot," according to "Chumps to Champs: How the worst teams in the history of the Yankees led to the dynasty of 90s "(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
But Jeter was not in agreement.
"I just said we had to prove ourselves again," recalls Jeter in Bill Pennington's book, released Tuesday. "It was the only way to get back up there."
Although it is hard to believe that Rivera and Jeter are two of the greatest players in baseball history, their journey so far was far from certain.
When the Yankees offered Rivera his first contract in 1990, the 20-year-old worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, on his father's fishing boat in Panama. He hated work. His only relief came on Sunday when, after church, he was playing baseball in the afternoon, using a cardboard glove.
At that time, it was a short stopover, but when asked to play in a local all-star game, he ended up having a natural affinity for this game.
"He only started fastballs at about 87 km / h, but Rivera could throw him where he wanted – outside the batting knee, inside corner, up and in. His control was effortless." , Pennington writes.
In fact, a local taxi driver at the scouting station persuaded the Yankees director of Latin American tracking to try Rivera.
$ 2,000 was offered to Rivera to join the Yankees minor league team in Tampa, which was both an adventure and a risk.
"Rivera did not speak English, had dropped out of school in Grade 9 and had never been out of Panama," Pennington writes. "When the Yankees told him about their minor league training complex in Tampa, he asked them," What's a Tampa? " "
"I was not even a pitcher," Rivera said later. "I was scared."
Despite his fears for the future, he was happy to escape his old life.
"The alternative was to go back to sea. A few months before, his uncle Miguel had been mortally wounded in an accident with the rigging of his father's boat," Pennington writes.
The first story of Derek Jeter could not have been more different.
Yankees scout Dick Groch began to monitor the high-level player in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when the future sensation was 15 years old and his potential as a short All-Star stunt seemed obvious.
"Cat Movements, Personification of Athletics," said Groch about his first impressions of Jeter. "Scouts watch thousands of players, waiting to see a special player. You wait to see a child who has everything. I saw it at Derek Jeter's.
The Yankees were so anxious to let the other teams know about Jeter that they told Groch not to introduce himself to the player or his coach and keep his comments as secret as possible.
"Scouts watch thousands of players, waiting to see a special player. You wait to see a child who has everything. I saw him at Derek Jeter. '
"To watch Jeter play, Groch sometimes stood on the hill of an adjacent field or in the shadow of a shed all the way down the left field line," Pennington writes. Hidden places, he watched Jeter play the binoculars.
In 1992, Jeter had agreed to play baseball for the University of Michigan, but the Yankees were hoping to change their minds.
Nevertheless, the Yankees – who had the sixth pick in the draft of that year – did not know if they had a chance to win Jeter. The Houston Astros had the first choice. Hal Newhouser, a Midwest Hall of Fame scout, "urged the Astros to take Jeter, claiming that Jeter was as good a player as ever," Pennington writes.
"When the Astros took [third baseman Phil] Nevin instead, a disgusted Newhouser resigned and never worked in baseball again. "
Surprisingly, the following four teams also spent throwing. The Yankees got their historic pick and a $ 800,000 contract persuaded him to get around the University of Michigan and start his career with the Yankees of Tampa, the Yankees' A-Advanced farming team. (The team has changed names and now calls Tampa Tarpons in 2018.)
But his early days as a professional player were less than impressive. Throwing just hit .202 with Tampa, prompting Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to congratulate the recruiting director, Bill Livesey, with comments such as "How do you choose your best choice, the .200 hitter?"
Joining the Class A farm team in Greensboro, North Carolina, later in the same season, Jeter, "lean and without a season … would play 11 games and make nine mistakes. At the plate, he was a fan of brittle balls and hit .243. "
Andy Pettitte was also part of this team and had heard the hype about this supposed superstar.
"That's our first choice?" He asked, incredulous.
Feeling the pressure, Jeter marveled with regret and never left his hotel room when he was not playing.
"He was constantly on the phone and phoning his home in Michigan. He sometimes cried to his mother, asking if he could go back to Kalamazoo, wondering why he did not go to the University of Michigan. "
But even with his fragile adjustment, Jeter was already showing signs of leadership on the ground. Rivera and he became good friends as teammates in Greensboro, and Jeter provided crucial assistance to the pitcher as he headed for the pros invasion.
"It's Jeter who helped Rivera count his shots during his debut in 1993," Pennington writes.
"Jeter would visit the mound and both would talk about his count. "It would be something encouraging but useful," Rivera said. He said, "Hey, 40 shots, it's time to sit down that batter, Mo. It's probably your last run. Let's get out of here. & # 39; "
But in 1993, Jeter's future as a shortstop was called into question after committing 56 errors in 126 games. At that time, Steinbrenner urged Yankees general manager Gene Michael to place Jeter in the middle of the field, but Michael, who had been watching monitoring reports on the player for years, knew about it.
"I said, George, it's a short-stop. He is our shortstop. Get used to it, said Michael.
Finally, he was a crucial mentor who helped Jeter improve on the pitch.
During the winter of 1993, Jeter worked for five weeks one-on-one with Brian Butterfield, a team instructor, who considered the "guru" infield.
"He changed the way Derek shot the doubles games, making him more aggressive by receiving the second baseman's ball," said Mitch Lukevics, the Yankees farm manager, in the book.
"Brian even changed the way Derek held his glove on his hand. He wanted it to be more relaxed, more open and more welcoming at the ball. "
In 1994, Jeter achieved the unprecedented increase from class A to double-A in triple season in one season. He was beaten at .329 in a ball before ending, finishing the season with a .344 overall average.
"The Derek Jeter that I saw in 1994 was a man compared to the one I had seen the year before," Rivera said in the book. "He has always had confidence, but now he has acquired the skills to turn that trust into success on the ground."
The jump from class A to Triple-A was more common among pitchers, and Rivera did the same thing that year.
When Rivera made his major league debut for the Yankees in May 1995, his fastball was still swaying at around 90 mph. After four starts and one ERA out of 10, he was sent back to Triple-A.
Jeter made his Yankees debut six days after Rivera. He struck a mere 0.250 when he was demoted to Triple-A on June 11, the same day as Rivera.
At this point, the Yankees were openly considering an exchange for Rivera.
"I did not agree to exchange Mariano, but we were certainly leaning in that direction," Michael said later. "At this point of the season, we definitely needed a proven starter."
But then something miraculous happened.
When he returned on June 26 for the Yankees Triple-A Columbus Clippers, Rivera threw brilliantly into one inning, eliminating two and removing the third batter on weak ground.
And suddenly, after five years of throwing fastballs at 90 mph, Rivera started to fly at 95 mph – a crucial difference for a major player.
Jorge Posada, the future Yankees catcher, was behind the plate for the Clippers and "was stunned by the velocity of Rivera's throws," Pennington writes.
"His fastball exploded from his hand," Posada said many years later. He was hitting my glove with that thud. The batters had no chance.
Jeter was also one of the first to note the evolution of Rivera. Pennington quotes Posada in the book: "Jeter always said that Mariano had Jedi powers."
After hearing about Rivera's performance the next morning, he decided not to exchange it.
Rivera and Jeter were recalled for the 1996 season. Finally, they could prove to themselves and to the world that they were really ready for the majors.
However, Steinbrenner still believed that Jeter was not ready for prime time and was forced to negotiate a new stopover. Angry Michael argued the opposite and Jeter was kept at the position.
It's a good thing he did, because it's the year that Jeter laid the foundation for his future. On the first day, he hit a home shot in his second game and achieved "a spectacular take on the shoulder in the shallow left field to preserve the Yankees' first win of the year. The next day he had three hits and scored three points.
By the end of the season, Jeter had reached .314, which earned him the rookie title of the American League.
Rivera, meanwhile, finished the season with a 2.09 ERA and set a team record for taking batting by a reliever. He came in 12th position on MVP by voting for the American League and in third place for the Cy Young Award.
That year, the Yankees won their first World Series title since 1978, defeating the Atlanta Braves four-two. With Jeter and Rivera in the lead, they would win three more titles over the next four years.
"Derek Jeter, 22, was about to become an incandescent figure in the sport," Pennington writes.
And Rivera, 26, "would soon establish himself as the biggest lifter and one of the most dominant pitchers of all time. The connection to the long line of Yankees championships has been reborn with new local stars. And the party was just beginning.
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