The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter
"Derek Jeter is undoubtedly the most talked about, argued about, cheered, booed and ultimately respected baseball player of his generation. And as public a figure as he has been, he is in many ways the least known. That changes now as Ian O'Connor, one of the best sports writers anywhere, goes deep and does what no one has quite been able to do: Tell us a bit about who Derek Jeter really is."--Joe Posnanski, author of The Machine
"Deftly told."--The Washington Post
In The Captain, Ian O'Connor draws on unique access to Derek Jeter and more than 200 new interviews to reveal how a biracial kid from Michigan became New York's most beloved sports figure and the face of the steroid-free athlete.
O'Connor takes us behind the scenes of a legendary baseball life, from Jeter's early struggles in the minor leagues, when homesickness and errors threatened a stillborn career, to the heady days of Yankee superiority and nightlife, to the battles with former best friend A-Rod.
All along the way, Jeter has made his Hall-of-Fame destiny look easy. But behind that leadership and hero's grace there are hidden struggles and complexities that have never been explored, until now.
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
"Jeter is the prince, the good son, the tireless worker. O'Connor uses baseball lore and the tropes and rhythms of folktales to limn Jeter's family life and early career...essential for Yankees fans." -- Booklist
"O'Connor peppers the bio with enough hidden gems about the notoriously private ballplayer to make this the most thorough and intriguing work on Jeter so far. And O'Connor's ability to reconcile Jeter the man with Jeter the ballplayer means that even Red Sox fans may enjoy this bio." -- Publishers Weekly
"The most complete account yet of this signal player's life and career . . . Insightful about Jeter's minor league days and touching on his personal life, The Captain tantalizes with predictions about possible position changes and the length of Jeter's career. An excellent selection for those interested in baseball generally and in pinstripes particularly." -- Library Journal
"Long after Derek Jeter is inducted into the Hall of Fame, Ian O'Connor's work will be viewed as the definitive biography of the captain. Jeter has always managed to keep it simple, but as O'Connor shows, the shortstop is a complicated superstar." -- Buster Olney, author of How Lucky You Can Be and The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty
"Ian O'Connor is an ideal biographer for Derek Jeter. Ian is the same kind of thorough pro." -- Tom Callahan, best-selling author of Johnny U
"Derek Jeter is undoubtedly the most talked about, argued about, cheered, booed and ultimately respected baseball player of his generation. And as public a figure as he has been, he is in many ways the least known. That changes now as Ian O'Connor, one of the best sportswriters anywhere, goes deep and does what no one has quite been able to do: tell us a bit about who Derek Jeter really is." -- Joe Posnanski, author of The Machine
"For years we've been telling young ballplayers to play and behave like Derek Jeter. Now we can tell them to read Ian O'Connor's The Captain. Finally, we have an inside look at the worthy successor to Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle." -- Dan Shaughnessy, author of Fenway and Senior Year
