MLB: Jeter inks with Yanks for 10 more

By Trent Thomas

Put Derek Jeter in a class by himself.

The shortstop doesn’t have as much money as Alex Rodriguez, but he may have signed himself into something more valuable. A chance to win several more rings with the current kings of baseball.

As Sportsuperstarz.com first reported on January 30, the Yankees and Jeter finally closed their long awaited multi-year deal for the biggest city’s biggest superstar. The shortstop inked a 10-year, $189 million package that makes him the second highest paid player in total contract in baseball. "I think everyone's blown away by the numbers," Jeter said. "I don't sit down and look at the numbers. I look more at that I have the chance to stay here."

The 26-year-old shortstop was facing free agency after this season, however the Yankees and him came to the deal after almost 14 months of negotiations. They were able to get final approval from George Steinbrenner on this contract on Friday. It is something they were not able to do with the proposed 7-year, $118.5 contract Jeter almost signed last season.

Steinbrenner told Sportsuperstarz.com that Jeter is everything that a Yankee must represent.

"Derek Jeter embodies everything the Yankees are about," Steinbrenner said. "There are some things that cannot be defined by batting average, home runs and runs batted in. Equally important are an athlete's heart and desire."

Jeter said that the owner told him that he would like the shortstop to become more of a team leader, now that he has his multi-year contract. "He wants me to be a leader, so to speak, but I think that's something that just goes along with how I played in the past," Jeter said. "I don't tell everyone I'm a leader. I just go out and play hard. I'll just continue to do what I've been doing."

Jeter hit .339 with 15 home runs and 73 runs batted in last season. He collected 201 hits and stole 22 bases as well for the World Champion Yankees. The shortstop also collected some hardware, as he was named All-Star and World Series Most Valuable Player. He is a career .322 hitter with 1,008 hits in just five full seasons for the Yankees and said that he could never really picture playing anywhere else.

"I couldn't picture it," Jeter said. "I really felt there was no reason to see if the grass was greener on the other side. Even if I had played out the year, my first choice would have been New York. I never intended to play elsewhere, and to be honest with you, never intended to look elsewhere."

Jeter has also played on four world championship winners for the Yankees. He will be pursuing the team’s fourth world title in a row and fifth in the last six years this coming season. With his new ten-year deal, the star may not have as much money as Rodriguez, but he now has the opportunity to win several more rings.

Article courtesy of Sportsuperstarz.com