Vital Statistics:
Born: June 26, 1974
Hometown: Pequannock, New Jersey
Height: 6-3
Weight: 195
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Marital status: Single
Primary position: Shortstop
Before The Bigs:
- Was an all-state basketball and baseball player at Kalamazoo (Mich.) Central High School. Named the Gatorade national player of the year in 1992.
- No. 6 overall pick in the 1992 draft, and spurned a scholarship offer from Michigan to sign with the Yankees.
- Named Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year in 1994, a season that started at Single-A Tampa and ended at Triple-A Columbus. He hit .329 with 39 RBIs and 28 stolen bases at Tampa, .377 at Double-A Albany, and .349 at Columbus.
- Made his debut with the Yankees in May 1995, when he started 13 games before heading back to Columbus.
Career Highlights:
- Became a starter in 1996, when the Yankees won their first championship since 1978. Voted American League Rookie of the Year, hitting .314 with 10 home runs; he hit just 16 total in four minor-league seasons.
- Led the AL in hits in 1999 with 219 and batted .349.
- Became the first player to be named All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP in the same season in 2000.
- Entering 2007, he has 150 career postseason hits, a major-league record.
- Was named captain of the Yankees in 2003, the first since Don Mattingly retired in 1995.
- Won Gold Gloves in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
- Seven-time American League All-Star entering 2007.
