Derek Jeter: Unauthorized Biography Reveals Little Fans Don’t Know
April 26, 2011 · Harold Friend · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Recently, the New York Post ran some excerpts from an unauthorized biography of Derek Jeter.
Since the book has not yet been published, it is impossible to determine if the author did a hatchet job on the New York Yankees‘ captain or if the tabloid, continuing its consistency in presenting the worst in people, cherry-picked the negative.
Author Ian O’Connor has stated in an ESPN Radio interview that the objective of the book was to paint a public portrait of a private man and to humanize him.
The public knows Derek Jeter. It doesn’t need Mr. O’Connor to help them learn about one of the greatest of all Yankees. Baseball fans know that Jeter is human. He has many great qualities as well as some human foibles.
By writing an unauthorized biography, Mr. O’Connor is violating Jeter’s privacy, an action which most Americans do not care about, since most Americans don’t care about their own privacy.
Mr. O’Connor considers Derek Jeter the Joe DiMaggio of this generation, which is right on target. Many idolized DiMaggio, but many resented his insistence on privacy.
After Joe DiMaggio’s death, Richard Ben Cramer wrote a book, A Hero’s Life, in which he attempted to show that the Joe DiMaggio generations of Americans considered one their great heroes was merely a creation of the country’s communal imagination.
Unauthorized biographers can take great liberties with the truth.
Mr. Cramer wrote that “While alone in his room, DiMaggio started to smoke a cigarette.” If DiMaggio were alone, how did Cramer know what DiMaggio had done?
Mr. O’Connor’s contact with Jeter for the book consisted of a few brief interviews at Jeter’s locker. Jeter’s parents and sister did not agree to be interviewed for the book, but the author did do over 200 interviews with people in Jeter’s life.
Since Jeter is a very private person, how many of the individuals interviewed know the “real” Derek Jeter?
Mr. O’Connor had interviewed Jeter hundreds of times, as had other baseball writers during Jeter’s career. How much new or revealing information could Mr. O’Connor garnered from those interviews, since Jeter always gives the media guarded statements?
Mr. O’Connor said that the book presents a mostly positive portrait of Jeter. Accepting that questionable claim, Mr. O’Connor, as an experienced writer, knows that the tabloids will emphasize the negative aspects of his book, and the American people will “eat it up.”
Jeter is, according to the book, sensitive to criticism and has trouble forgiving and forgetting. That is really ground-breaking information that no one knew before.
A statement made by Mr. O’Connor that may reveal the real nature of the book occurred when he was concerned that Jeter might “write him off” after learning what was written. O’Connor was unconcerned.
“I certainly knew that going in. I hope that’s not the case, but if it is, he’s certainly entitled to act however he wants to act. If he wants to put me outside the igloo, I’ll live with it. I’ll deal with it.”
Based on what has been learned, very little not known about Derek Jeter is contained in the book.
All that the book seemingly presents, based on what has been publicized, are rehashed stories about Derek and Alex Rodriguez, and to a lesser extent, Joe Torre, Brian Cashman and other members of the Yankees brass.
We all know how upset Jeter was when the Yankees decided to publicize aspects of the contract talks between the shortstop and the ball club.
It will take a lot more than an unauthorized biography to tarnish the legend of Derek Jeter.
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