The Yankees have asked a lot from Derek Jeter, and he’s given them a lot when it comes to the honoring of the Yankees mystique and tradition. For twenty years, he never stepped out of line. He always said the right things and always kept his cool, even to the point where he can say, ” I was never thrown out of a ballgame by an umpire.”
We know all this because we witnessed it. But what we can never know is how many times Jeter bit his tongue saying nothing to a reporter or even a misguided teammate, even though he was burning inside.