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Life was good for New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter in the late 90s and early 2000s. He was bringing World Series titles to the Bronx and enjoying his time outside of baseball.
During an interview during the offseason in 2002, his boss, George Steinbrenner was critical of Jeter's lifestyle. He implied that his slugger was living it up too much and not focused on the game.
Jeter did not agree with Steinbrenner's take. He was fully focused on his craft and the game, and the comments made it seem that he was not, via ESPN.
"He's the boss and he's entitled to his opinion, right or wrong, but what he said has been turned into me being this big party animal. He even made a reference to one birthday party. That's been turned into that I'm like Dennis Rodman now," Jeter said.
What irked Jeter the most was that people were starting to question his work ethic. That is where the slugger drew the line as he took great pride in how hard he pushed himself on the field.
"I don't think that's fair. I have no problems with people criticizing how I play. But it bothers me when people question my work ethic. That's when you're talking about my integrity. I take a lot of pride in how hard I work" Jeter said.
Derek Jeter responded with a great 2003 season
Derek Jeter had some trouble on Opening Day during the 2003 season. He dislocated his shoulder after colliding with Toronto Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby at third base.
The injury caused him to miss 36 games, but he came back with a vengeance. After being named the Yankees captain in June, he hit .324, which ranked him third amongst other MLB hitters.
Jeter would lead the Bronx Bombers to the postseason that year. They took down the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS and defeated their rivals, the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.
The Yankees would then meet up with the Florida Marlins. Unfortunately, the Yanks could not keep up with the Marlins, falling 4-2.
Florida's pitching staff was on a tremendous run, especially in the postseason. Josh Beckett threw a complete-game shutout in Game 6 of the World Series to close it out. That would be the organization's second and last World Series title to date.
