New Article: The Yankees Re-Sign Derek Jeter

Captain Derek Jeter re-signs with the New York Yankees so he can finish his career with the only team that he has ever plyed for. Read below for the story.



The drawn-out affair of contract talks between the Yankees and Derek Jeter ended on Tuesday, with the captain expressing gratitude for his new three-year contract and frustration with the public aspect of his free-agent experience.

"This is the only organization I've ever wanted to play for and this is where I want to finish my career," Jeter said at a news conference held at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.

Jeter's pact, which includes a player option for 2014, is worth a guaranteed $51 million over three years and possibly as much as $65 million over four years. He will earn $15 million in 2011, $16 million in 2012 and $17 million in 2013 for a total of $48 million, $2 million of which will be deferred each year, The Associated Press reported. If he does not exercise his option for 2014, he will receive a $3 million buyout.

The option begins at $8 million and could rise to $17 million based upon Jeter's performance over the first three seasons. A points system will determine the amount, according to AP. Jeter will earn points for finishing in the top six in AL MVP voting and for winning World Series MVP, League Championship Series MVP, Gold Glove or Silver Slugger awards.

During his four weeks of free agency, much was written and said -- including remarks made by Jeter's agent and Yankees officials -- about the negotiations. Some reports said that Jeter was seeking a six-year contract worth $23 million a year.

Jeter said on Tuesday he didn't enjoy being called "greedy" by some, and he said that he had made no demands. He said he told his agent, Casey Close, that he wasn't interested in hearing from any other teams.

"I said I wanted to be here. What could I demand?" Jeter said.

"I think the thing that bothered me the most was how public this became. The negotiations were supposed to be private. It was an uncomfortable position I was in ... Throughout the years, I've prided myself on keeping things out of the papers and out of the media.

"I never wanted to be a free agent. It's the situation I was in. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry at how some of this went. I'm not going to point the finger at anyone. You can see we're one big happy family now."

Jeter, 36, is 74 hits from reaching 3,000 in his career. He has appeared in more Yankees victories (1,379) than any other player in franchise history, according to Elias Sports Bureau. He is also the Yankees' all-time leader in hits (2,926), at-bats (9,322) and singles (2,163), ranks second in games played (2,295), doubles (468) and stolen bases (323), and third in runs scored (1,685).

He is an 11-time American League All-Star and earned his fifth Gold Glove Award in 2010, and he has scored at least 100 runs 13 times in his career, tied with Lou Gehrig for the most 100-run seasons in franchise history and tied for the second-highest total of all-time, trailing only Hank Aaron's 15 such seasons.

Negotiations with Jeter made substantial progress late last week, following a stalemate and sharp words in the press between general manager Brian Cashman and Close, Jeter's longtime representative.

New York had offered Jeter a three-year, $45 million pact, which Cashman defended as fair for the team captain, who is coming off a career-low .270 batting average and will turn 37 in June. Jeter recently completed a 10-year, $189 million deal.

Knowing of a potential gap, managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner agreed in a radio interview that the deal could get "messy." Close was later quoted as saying he was "baffled" by the Yankees' stance, invoking Jeter's status as the "modern-day Babe Ruth" when negotiations stalled.

That led Cashman to invite Jeter's camp to "test the market" to see if there was an offer out there he would prefer.

Cooler heads prevailed in a face-to-face sitdown in Tampa last Tuesday, the first such meeting between the two sides in nearly a month. Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine were also involved in that meeting.

The Yankees showed a willingness to improve their offer slightly, and Jeter's camp came down to find common ground in the middle, making the continuation of a productive relationship agreeable for both parties.

"I think we expected to get it done," Levine said before the news conference. "We're delighted that it's done. ... I think it was inevitable that it would get done, and we're just real happy that it is.

"Every negotiation is a negotiation. Start and ask for 'A,' and it's the old adage -- if you don't ask, you don't get. It's that way on both sides. I don't think it was contentious. It was done in a business-like way. We spent a lot of time with Derek before this was done. He was the usual high-level, integral person that he is. He comported himself with tremendous professionalism, in the spirit of what the captain of the Yankees truly is. I'm just so happy he's going to be here for three or, hopefully, four years, and I hope he makes every one of those incentives."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.