Neyer: When a Hall of Famer quit because of Derek Jeter
From SABR member Rob Neyer at Baseball Nation on June 6, 2013:
Today it’s worth remembering that when the Yankees drafted Derek Jeter in 1992, they drafted sixth.
The Astros drafted first, and one of their scouts, based in Michigan, was exceptionally high on Michiganian Derek Jeter. The scout tried to convince his bosses that Derek Jeter was the best amateur player in the country. His bosses believed, as many bosses did, that Phil Nevin was the best in the land. We’ll let Buster Olney pick up the story from there …
The scout, who worked for the Houston Astros, got a phone call from his supervisor, Dan O’Brien, just before the ’92 draft. O’Brien, then the scouting director for Houston, called to say the Astros planned to select Nevin with the first overall pick. ”It’s an organizational decision,” O’Brien said.
The scout — Hal Newhouser — was ”extremely disappointed,” O’Brien recalled. Newhouser implored club officials to reconsider their decision. But the Astros drafted Nevin; Jeter fell into the hands of the Yankees, who had the sixth pick in the first round.
Read the full article here: http://www.baseballnation.com/hot-corner/2013/6/6/4403582/derek-jeter-draft-hal-newhouser-scout-astros
Originally published: June 6, 2013. Last Updated: June 6, 2013.