Jeter Doesn't Rhyme With Cheater

Alex Rodriguez may arguably be baseball's best overall player (see Albert Pujols just to make sure) but the face of the game rests solely on the shoulders of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

He has carried the mantle of the game with pride, much like a quiet Yankee of years past, Joe DiMaggio. Jeter has been knowledgeable enough to understand that the game is larger than the parts that fit in it.

I recall an interview on 60 Minutes years back where Jeter always referred to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner as "Mr. Steinbrenner." He did so even as the Boss was highly critical of his rising star's magnetic effect on beautiful women and the late nights Jeter was keeping. Just as he does when facing a 3-2 count, Jeter calmly told everyone that was just a part of his life. A part he knew how to control. Nothing worth losing sleep over because everything took a back seat to being a member of the hallowed New York Yankees.

The Yankees were Jeter's dream club as he grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. At eight years old he announced to his parents he'd be wearing pinstripes one day. It was hard work and dedication from that moment on. No cutting corners. His parents instilled that doctrine and made sure their son followed through. He had to earn his way. Growing up in a loving home, Jeter learned how to deal with the ignorance of outsiders who taunted his heritage of having a white mother and black father.

When my son turned 11 he became a one person PR firm, campaigning daily for his first cell phone. A baseball player of promise himself, I made my son a deal. I handed him Jeter's autobiography "The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams," with the understanding he had to read the book in order to get his phone. I had thumbed through a few chapters while at the bookstore. I was extremely impressed and furthermore, I trusted Derek Jeter.

My son balked at first about the condition set forth. "Why do I have to read this?" It was a deal breaker for me. Don't read it, no phone. He started out slow but after a couple of weeks he got into it. He read the messages Jeter's parents had preached to him. Some where the same my wife and I were pounding in his head: "Set high goals, don't be afraid to fail, find role models and think before you act." The book is filled with model examples for becoming a better person, realizing your potential and understanding your role in society.

As Rodriguez was facing public scrutiny by admitting his steroid use, sitting off to the side in the front row with other teammates, was the Yankees captain, Derek Jeter. "We're here to support him through it," Jeter said. "I don't condone what he did... And I think at this point now, it's our jobs to try to help him be as comfortable as he can on the field and try to move past this."

When a star as large as Rodriguez's burns dimmer over an issue that has placed a dark cloud over the American pastime, it's hard to stop the speculation train from rumbling down the tracks. And that becomes the tough part for the players who achieved their dream through hard work and playing by the rules.

"One thing that is irritating and it really upsets me a lot is when you hear everybody say, 'It was the steroid era. Everybody was doing it.' You know, that's not true. Everybody was not doing it," Jeter said last week. He added, "I think it sends the wrong message to fans, to baseball fans; I think it sends the wrong message to kids, saying that everybody was doing it, because that's just not the truth."

The problem is a number of big name stars have looked people right in the eye and lied. There is something about Derek Jeter though that is genuine. Baseball knows it, Madison Avenue knows it and those who play the game know it.

"Baseball would fold if Derek Jeter came out and said he did steroids," former Yanks teammate and pitcher David Wells said. "He's just such a good individual. He's a model citizen of Major League Baseball and probably a good role model for the world. That's the one guy it would surprise the hell out of me if he did it."

So, while sports writers and fans cast a raised eyebrow over anyone these days who say they never used "roids", the man who could very easily be Major League Baseball's poster image, should be taken at his word.

(By-the-way, my son got his phone.)