Derek Jeter Talks Yankees Youth Movement

Former Yankees captain Derek Jeter finally broke his silence about his former club’s youth movement.

The last time the Yankees employed a team made up of mostly young players before this past season was 1996. And as we all know, that worked out pretty well with five World Series titles in 13 seasons.

So it was a bit curious that the man in the middle of all those great Yankees teams was mostly silent through this past topsy-turvy campaign. But on Tuesday night at Cipriani, while Jeter hosted his 20th annual Turn 2 Foundation dinner, he weighed in on the direction of his beloved Yankees.

“I think it happens to every team at some point,” Jeter said. “We had a long run there. We had a lot of the same guys together for an extended period of time. It doesn’t really happen too often. So I think it happens to every team at some point. But the young guys–it seems like they’ve made a smooth transition. I know there are some big expectations for them.”

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Always the voice of reason, Jeter wouldn’t go any further into detail on how he felt about any one particular player or how the team could improve for next season.

When broached with the question about this current Postseason, and former teammate Alex Rodriguez‘s critically acclaimed job as a Fox Sports studio analyst, Jeter responded, “I haven’t been watching the games, I’ve been busy, man.”

Too bad no one asked Jeter his thoughts on what Pete Rose said to Rodriguez during last week’s telecast. If you recall, the all-time hits king Rose, flat out insinuated that Jeter inspired Rodriguez to lift his overall game, after he was traded to the Yankees.

In classic A-Rod form, he paused, smirked, and then responded: “I loved it.” Yeah, right. Whether or not Jeter being the prince of New York did indeed push Rodriguez to be his very best while in pinstripes is something neither man will ever truly admit to–regardless, the 2009 World Series title is evidence enough the pairing of two colossal superstars worked for as long as it possibly could.

Next: LeBron James the Yankees Fan

I for one just hope the Yankees organization eventually get Jeter re-involved with the club, in some kind of management, or on-field capacity. It would be a crying shame to not make use of one of the great ambassadors in baseball history.