To everyone working to ensure we are healthy and safe. We are grateful for your work and sacrifices
—D. J.
A Note About the Text
The rules of Little League followed in this book are the rules of the present day. There are six innings in each game. Every player on a Little League baseball team must play at least two innings of every game in the field and have at least one at bat. In any given contest, there is a limit on the number of pitches a pitcher can throw, in accordance with age. Pitchers who are eight years old are allowed a maximum of fifty pitches in a game, pitchers who are nine or ten years old are allowed seventy-five pitches per game, and pitchers who are eleven or twelve years old are allowed eighty-five pitches.
Dear Reader,
Wind Up is inspired by some of my experiences growing up. The book portrays the values my parents instilled in me and the lessons they have taught me about how to remain true to myself and embrace the unique differences in everyone around me.
Wind Up is based on the lesson that everything in life is an opportunity both for fun and learning. This is one of the principles I have lived by in order to achieve my dreams. I hope you enjoy reading!
Derek Jeter
DEREK JETER’S 10 LIFE LESSONS
Set Your Goals High (The Contract)
Think Before You Act (Hit & Miss)
Deal with Growing Pains (Change Up)
The World Isn’t Always Fair (Fair Ball)
Find the Right Role Models (Curveball)
Don’t Be Afraid to Fail (Fast Break)
Have a Strong Supporting Cast (Strike Zone)
Be Serious but Have Fun (Wind Up)
Be a Leader, Follow the Leader
Life Is a Daily Challenge
CONTRACT FOR DEREK JETER
Family Comes First. Attend our nightly dinner.
Be a Role Model for Sharlee. (She looks to you to model good behavior.)
Do Your Schoolwork and Maintain Good Grades (As or Bs).
Bedtime. Lights out at nine p.m. on school nights.
Do Your Chores. Take out the garbage, clean your room on weekends, and help with the dishes.
Respect Others. Be a good friend, classmate, and teammate. Listen to your teachers, coaches, and other adults.
Respect Yourself. Take good care of your body and your mind. Avoid alcohol and drugs. Surround yourself with positive friends with strong values.
Work Hard. You owe it to yourself and those around you to give your all. Do your best in everything that you do.
Think Before You Act.
Failure to comply will result in the loss of playing sports and hanging out with friends. Extra-special rewards include attending a Major League Baseball game, choosing a location for dinner, and selecting another event of your choice.
Chapter One MAKE-OR-BREAK
“Goooooooooooooooo, Yanks!”
Derek Jeter felt an electric surge go through him as he and his Yankee teammates put their hands together, then lifted them skyward for their pregame cheer.
The team was at the season’s final crossroads. With a win today against the Pirates, they could punch their ticket to the Little League playoffs. But if they lost, their season would be over.
Derek shuddered, picturing himself sitting around for the whole second half of June, while other kids competed for the championship.
Unthinkable! No way was Derek okay with that—not after the Yanks had come back from the dead with three straight wins, rescuing their season after a horrible start!
Today’s teams were both 4–3 on the season. Not only would the losers be eliminated, but they would also finish without a winning season.
For this crucial game, Coach Stafford had switched around the Yankees’ normal lineup. Instead of Harry Hicks, their usual starting pitcher, Avery Mullins was on the mound. She was the only girl on the team—or in the entire league, for that matter!
Coach K was taking a chance on Avery today because Harry had been sick with a fever earlier in the week. Derek knew she could do the job—hey, she’d done it before! On the other hand, she had never been in a game this critical.
Derek watched Avery throw her warm-up pitches. Avery can really play some ball, he thought. She had grit and determination, too.
Most of the guys on the team had given her a hard time at first, ignoring the fact that she’d never played organized ball before. The coaches hadn’t given her much playing time, either—not until midseason, when things had already been looking desperate, and the need to shake things up had become obvious.
Still, in spite of everything, Avery was having a breakout rookie season. By now, of course, they all knew what she could do. They also knew to stay out of her way when she wasn’t in the mood to fool around—like now.
Derek fielded a warm-up grounder and fired it over to Ryan McDonough at first base. Then he turned and waved to his pal Vijay Patel out in right. Vijay waved back, flashing a huge grin and a victory sign.
Derek shook his head in admiration. Somehow Vijay always found a way to enjoy the moment, even under maximum pressure.
Derek wished he could take things so casually, but he couldn’t. Baseball meant the world to him. One day he hoped to be the starting shortstop for the real New York Yankees! Every baseball game along the way meant more to him than it meant to most kids he knew.
And even though he understood that “you can’t win ’em all,” it was never okay with Derek when he lost.
Avery was like that too. Maybe that was why the two of them had become friends over the past month or so.
She fired one last warm-up throw, and JJ Stafford, who was the catcher and the coach’s son, threw down to second base, where Pete Kozlowski, the assistant coach’s son, grabbed it and put the tag on the phantom runner.
“Play ball!” shouted the umpire.
“Go, Yankees!” came a shout from the stands, louder than the general cheering.
Derek recognized his
