An 18-year-old stepped onto the Ann Arbor scene four years ago, ready to embark on his freshman year.
He did all the things that first-year students at the University tend to do. He lived in a dormitory with a roommate. He enrolled in introductory courses. And he was one of the 106,000 screaming fans at Michigan football games.
The kid from Kalamazoo knew early that he wanted to come to Michigan. His 3.82 grade-point average at Kalamazoo Central High School could have gotten him into many academic institutions.
But not only did he come to Ann Arbor with a brain in his head, he came with a strong arm, as well.
A baseball arm.
A major-league prospect's arm.
Derek Jeter never ended up playing college baseball.
The teenager, who started throwing the ball around at age 5, knew when he moved to Ann Arbor that he wouldn't stay long.
College would be but a short stop on the shortstop's path to his ultimate goal - the majors.
Michigan's baseball coach at the time, Bill Freehan, wished he could have had Jeter play for his squad in the spring of 1993. But he knew that the baseball phenom had one thing different from any of his other players.
Jeter was already a member of a major league baseball team. The New York Yankees has signed him to a minor-league contract in 1992 and the Yankees agreed to pay for his education. Unfortunately for Freehan, the shortstop was too good, and the possibility of Jeter playing college baseball evaporated when Jeter dotted the i's and crossed the t's on his minor-league contract with the Yankees in June 1992.
Freehan said that Jeter was someone who "could turn a program around."
Judging from what Jeter has done since then, Freehan's statement looks to be correct.
Jeter would have graduated this past spring and could have raised the Michigan baseball program to one of the best in the country.
But that's speculation.
The facts are that Jeter is the everyday shortstop for the American League East first-place Yankees, heading into the final week of the regular season. He is the odds-on favorite to capture the American League Rookie of the Year Award. As of Saturday, Jeter is batting .318, has seven home runs and has knocked in 75 runs.
Not only are his numbers strong, but it's when he gets the hits that counts. Jeter came through in the clutch as usual in a crucial game with the Boston Red Sox. With the score tied at 11 in the bottom of the 10th and two outs, Jeter singled up the middle to knock in the winning run, his third hit and third RBI in six at-bats. His teammates mobbed Jeter at first base as the win brought the Yankees one game closer to their first division title since 1981.
Think about it. Just four years ago, instead of rounding the bases in Yankee Stadium, Jeter rounded Palmer Field to get to Couzens Hall. He took the same 100-level intro courses and walked the same Ann Arbor streets as any freshman on campus.
The 18-year-old shortstop started out one step ahead of every body else. A fast learner, an astute student.
"I pretty much have been playing with older players all my life," Jeter says. "I grew up kind of quick, so I'm just used to it."
But more than anything, he is used to success.
When the Yankees traveled to Detroit a few weeks ago for a three-game series with the Tigers, the colors of the empty seats stuck out more than the bodies.
But Jeter's fan club showed up, namely his parents, his high-school coach and Freehan. Three of the most important cornerstones of his young life watched as Jeter returned to his home state once again.
And while the media and fan attention centered around Yankee teammate Cecil Fielder and his return to Tiger Stadium for the first time since his trade to New York, Jeter found time to chat with family and friends. But this time, he stood on the field instead sitting in the stands.
"We used to come to Tiger Stadium a lot," Jeter said. "I was a Yankee fan, so we used to come watch the Yankees play. My dad took me to a lot of regular-season and playoff games, so it was always a dream for me to play in Tiger Stadium."
At Kalamazoo Central, Jeter excelled quickly in his two years of varsity baseball. He hit .557 in a full junior season and .508 in 23 games due to a severe ankle injury.
"He has a lot of natural ability," said Jeter's high school coach, Bob Zomel. "He has good foot speed and a good arm. But what I believe has made him the ballplayer he is today is his excellent work ethic.
"Derek was always asking me to hit him more ground balls. He was always the first one on the field, the last one off."
Freehan saw all of Jeter's talent during his junior year and knew he was something special.
"I saw him in some field in between Jackson and Kalamazoo, sat in my car, and wanted to see what he was doing when nobody was there," Freehan said. "He was the first one there, and he took a zillion ground balls before even the rest of the team got there.
"I liked his work ethic and his demeanor in a game. His enthusiasm and ability were very, very impressive."
Soon after Jeter's junior season, the Michigan coaches had Jeter come down to Ann Arbor for a recruiting visit. Jeter saw a football game, walked around campus, met some of his possible teammates and watched a practice.
Jeter committed to Michigan in the early signing period in November.
Jeter was taken aback by the athletic and academic combination the University presented him.
"I remember there being a lot of people," Jeter said. "It was a good academic school, and school always came first. (Michigan) just seemed the perfect fit for me."
But not for long. After Jeter's senior season, he was selected as the sixth pick in the June 1992 Amateur Draft - the first high school player chosen in the draft. It took a little over a month before the Yankees signed Jeter to a minor league contract with a bonus that stated New York would pay for Jeter's education.
What a deal for Jeter. He was able to attend his top school and play for the major league organization of his dreams. And he was being paid for both.
Immediately after he signed, Jeter was sent to the Yankees single-A affiliate in Tampa where he struggled in his first year.Jeter stuck around till the end of the summer and then went to play winter ball in Florida. He fared better in his second year in the minors, hitting .295 at single-A Greensboro.
Jeter came back to Ann Arbor in the fall of 1993. He lived in an apartment and practiced with the Wolverines, but he didn't take classes. As Jeter puts it, he was "living the college life without having classes." He spent most of the time with his girlfriend, who just graduated Michigan last year.
The shortstop glided through the minors in 1994, being promoted to Albany and Columbus, the double-A and triple-A affiliates, respectively. The awards started to pile up - Minor League Player of the Year awards from USA Today, The Sporting News and Baseball America.
While Jeter progressed quickly through the minors, life in the minors was different from high school ball.
"(The minors) are not as easy as people may think," Jeter said. "You get used to playing every day, being on the road, living out of a suitcase. It's a tough experience"
After his second full year in the minors, the question was not if he was going to be called up to the majors, it was when and how soon. On May 29, 1995, Jeter made his major league debut at Seattle, going hitless in five at-bats.
Zomel made the trip to Yankee Stadium to see his home debut. Jeter and Zomel had agreed that his high school coach would be there for the home opener, and that's what happened. The 22-year-old shortstop says that whenever he has a chance, he is going to get his degree at Michigan.
But he doesn't have the time to do that now. The rookie is right in the middle of a pennant race.
In his trip to Detroit three weeks ago, Jeter looked relaxed talking to his teammates, signing autographs from fans, who knew Jeter was a Michigan kid, and chatting with his family and friends.
In the opening game against the Tigers, it didn't take long for Jeter to make an impact. He tripled on the first pitch of the game. The Yankees went on to win 9-8 in a four-hour marathon. The rookie finished the night with a 3-for-5, 1 run, 2 RBI performance.
This wasn't the Kalamazoo Central Derek Jeter or the Columbus Clipper Derek Jeter. This was the Derek Jeter that fans should get used to, whether you are a Yankee fan or not. Derek Jeter will be around for a long time.
.His mother can't be happier at how her son has grown up. Like baseball pundits all across the nation, she is amazed how quickly he has developed.
"I'm very proud of him because this is what he wanted to do," Dorothy said "I feel at this point of time, he's a couple of years ahead of where I expected him to be."
"He sets goals and I will never doubt any of his goals. He succeeds in everything he puts down. He just works hard in everything."
Work ethic and success. Two things that Jeter is accustomed to. Success at bat, success on the field, success in the clubhouse, success at home. With the pace that Jeter is going at in just his rookie year, there are no limits to what he could do.
New York's Derek Jeter almost was a Michigan star.