Quotes by Derek Jeter

There may be people that have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.

I don't listen to opinions.

Kids are our future.

I want to have a family.

I try to stay as private as possible; I know that's difficult, especially playing here in New York, but I make an attempt at it.

I get asked enough questions, I try not to ask too many questions.

You gotta have fun.

The thing that means the most to me is being remembered as a Yankee, because that's what I've always wanted to be, was to be a Yankee.

I voted for Obama.

I've always been uncomfortable, so to speak, when the focus is on me.

No former player has owned a team in baseball.

You have to assume that everything you do is public knowledge. Everything. Because now everyone is a reporter. Everyone is a photographer.

Walking around sometimes, I would love to just be able to watch people, see how they act. Sometimes I would love to be invisible.

There's feelings there, but I think I've just been pretty good at trying to hide my emotions throughout the years. I try to have the same demeanor each and every day.

You hear about women buying shoes? I buy DVDs. I definitely have a problem.

I've always been very cautious with what I do. You know, that started at a young age. I always had the approach or the mentality I never wanted to embarrass my parents.

You've got to make adjustments as you get older.

Handle yourself like a professional on the field and you have one goal-and that's to win.

The only legacy I want is to be thought of as a winner.

A lot of teams, I think, are just happy to make the post-season. Here, you have to win.

I don't really see myself getting a Twitter account. Nothing against it. I get it. I especially get it for businesses.

I will never brag about myself, but my family, I can go on forever.

I never think about my own stats, as long as I'm contributing to the team.

It doesn't feel different being here (at the All-Star Game) I feel like I'm on an All-Star team everyday.

You have to be confident, if you're not confident you might as well go home.

I can see how people work out to feel better.

I think it comes easy to work hard. I was always taught, don't short-change yourself. Keep working to get better.

I'm not one to sit around and be satisfied about something. I can always get better.

Work hard, love what you do, put your best foot forward and never forget the kid in you.

There's responsibility, but there's also accountability. You have to be accountable for your actions. You have to stand at your locker when things are going bad.

MVP, you could have picked a name out of a hat... we have a group of MVPs. You don't rely on one guy. You have to get contributions from everyone.

Defense usually doesn't make many headlines, but it goes a long way towards winning baseball games. There are a number of ways to make an impact during the course of a game, and playing solid, sound defense is one of them.

Our fans don't want to see us win the Wild Card. They want to see us win the division.

The Yankees have twenty-five heroes.

It took him 75 steps to get from third to home. I thought we were going to have to go out there and help him. A lot of players start thinking double then maybe wind up with a triple because the outfielder slips.

It doesn't take any talent to play hard.

I try to sign for as many kids as possible. Kids come first, and I'll always sign for a kid before an adult.

Winning is one of the most special moments. Every time I take the field it's a special moment. The fans are the ones that make it special. Because that's what we do it for.

The longer you wait to decide what you want to do, the more time you're wasting. It's up to you to want something so badly that your passion shows through in your actions. Your actions, not your words, will do the shouting for you.

I hate the treadmill. I hate it. You really don't have to be on it that long, something like 20 or 30 minutes. It's all about getting your heart rate up.

One of the best things about being a Yankee is that you have guys like Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, Ron Guidry and Reggie Jackson wandering around the locker room offering you advice.

I've been lying to you guys for a long time, saying I wasn't nervous and there's no pressure. There was a lot of pressure to do it here.

This is why you play -- to get an opportunity to play in the playoffs.

Good teams make the playoffs, hot teams win the playoffs.

The guy's (Shane Spencer) ridiculous. No one hits home runs like that. I'm telling you, man, it's ridiculous.

Sneak out when things go good. It bothers me when people have good games and stand in front of their locker waiting for the media, then they have bad games and sneak out the back.

I have feelings. I'm not emotionally stunted.

The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward.

Yankee Stadium is my favorite stadium; I'm not going to lie to you. There's a certain feel you get in Yankee Stadium.

My dad had been shortstop when he was in college, and you know, when you're a kid, you want to be just like your dad.

On Kobe Bryant's death: Tragedies like this have a cruel way of reminding us of what's important in life: spending time with our loved ones, and being there for them no matter what.

I've been asked to sign a forehead.

If I put my name on something, I'm going to be involved. I'm not just going to put my name on it and not pay attention.

I've always had an interest in business, and my interest in business has really expanded over the years.

I can have fun anywhere, as long as I'm with good people. But in the offseason, I like to go somewhere warm, a nice spot in the Caribbean.

I think when things linger, that's when they become a distraction. I don't want any distractions.

I'm very, very competitive. If my grandmother asks to race me down the street, I'm going to try to beat her. And I'll probably enjoy it!

I always used to get in trouble for talking too much. When it was time for parent-teacher conferences, I remember that I was always embarrassed about what my parents would hear about me!

I always appreciated the ex-players. Being a Yankee, you get spoiled. Old-Timers Day, all these guys coming back, spring training, being around them, you get a chance to get to know them. So I always think you learn a lot by listening.

The number one priority is playing baseball. There are so many people in New York trying to get you to do this and get you to do that, which is fine, but you have to take care of yourself.

I get nervous watching teammates. I get nervous for them. Late in the game, pressure situation, I'm nervous for them.

I'm a New Yorker now, and believe me, there's no comparison between the Big Apple and Kalamazoo, no similarity at all. New York City's hectic, always in fast-forward, and Kalamazoo's more laid-back, smaller, slower.

I've always been very aware of what I'm saying, but I'm also aware of what you're saying. I always want to make sure that my point is clear.

You can't quantify everything a player does to win games.

The big difference for me is that, as I get older, I find it's a lot easier to stay in shape than it is to get back in shape.

When it was time for parent-teacher conferences, I remember that I was always embarrassed about what my parents would hear about me!

Everyone fears rejection.

The draft is a crapshoot, so I've been very fortunate to be drafted by the Yankees, and to have spent my whole career here.

Through time you learn from your experiences. I think I've learned to deal with people a little bit better over time. That in particular has developed a little bit.

I want to own a team one day. You know, that's my next goal.

You tell me you want to race down the street, I'm going to try to beat you. My grandmother asks me to race down the street, I'm going to try to beat her. And I'll probably enjoy it. Competitive to a fault, sometimes.

I remember going from rookie ball to A, to double A, then to triple A. At every level it seemed like the game was faster. The bigger the situation, the more the game speeds up. That's all mental. It messes people up.

It's never over. You don't want to be in the position to be down four runs in the ninth inning, but it's not over until the last out.

If you're going to win games, you're going to have to come up with the big hits. That's the bottom line.

I like to dance and sing when there's no one around, but, if I'm out, I'm really shy about it. So it takes a lot to get me going, but I enjoy being around music.

I've been playing baseball since I was 5 or 6 years old. I've been on a schedule, pretty much, since I was in eighth, ninth grade. I look forward to not doing that.

I think, a lot of times, players get in trouble when they're asked questions and they think they have to find a way to answer it. If you ask me a question and I say, 'I don't know,' there's really no follow-up.

Any player that says they don't want to go to an All-Star Game is lying to you. It's something everyone wants to be a part of.

I attribute much of my success in New York to my ability to understand and avoid unnecessary distractions.

I always have tried to treat people with respect, the way I want to be treated.

I've never been an actor on Broadway, but it feels like you're on a stage when you play at Yankee Stadium. And that's the feeling I've always had.

I think there's something wrong with me -- I like to win in everything I do, regardless of what it is. You want to race down the street, I want to beat you. If we're playing checkers, I want to win. You beat me, it's going to bother me. I just enjoy competition.

You're playing a game, whether it's Little League or Game 7 of the Word Series. It's impossible to do well unless you're having a good time. People talk about pressure. Yeah, there's pressure. But I just look at it as fun.

I wish I trusted people more. But when I meet someone, the first thing is, 'What does this person want?' And I put up a defense mechanism. But I've always been that way.

I like to hit the gym early in the morning. I feel better throughout the day when I get in a workout first thing in the morning.

Athletics keeps us healthy, gets us up and running around. It also gives you an opportunity to meet a lot of different people, which is very important.

You can't be sensitive, because you're going to get criticized. I don't care who you are, you're going to get criticized.

That's how you win -- pitching and defense.

The first thing to know about playing baseball in Michigan is, Michigan's really cold.

Not everybody's a baseball fan.

God, I hope I wear this jersey forever.

I've found that it's easier to stay in shape than it is to get into shape.

My best vacation is somewhere I could hide, somewhere warm and not a lot of people around.

I think sometimes people need to get used to an idea.

Sometimes people complicate things by thinking too much about what someone might think of what they said or did.

Don't get me wrong; it's not like I didn't go out and have fun. But there's been a lot of players that come to New York and get caught up in the lifestyle, and before you know it, they're sent away to another team because it affected their performance.

My heroes, my dreams, and my future lay in Yankee Stadium. And they can't take that away from me.

Surround yourself with good people. People who are going to be honest with you and look out for your best interests.

I went to school on Senior Skip Day.

I have the greatest job in the world. Only one person can have it. You have shortstops on other teams -- I'm not knocking other teams -- but there's only one shortstop on the Yankees.

The Yankees have strict rules. You can have a mustache but no other facial hair.

You forget about it whether it was 15-2 or 3-2. It's still a loss. It doesn't matter what the score was if we win tomorrow.

The last thing you want to do is finish playing or doing anything and wish you would have worked harder.

When I was younger, I was always taught not to make excuses.

I think everyone is ticklish. You just gotta find the right spots.

What kind of influence did my parents have on my life? Well, they had the most influence. These are the people who are closest to me. My parents are very positive people. They've been supportive. They're always there.

I love it when people doubt me. It makes me work harder to prove them wrong.

During the off-season, I go to the movies almost every day.

I always take criticism as a challenge. It's the way I've always looked at it.

Obviously, you're known for what you do. But you still want to be known as a good person. You're a person a lot longer before and after you're a professional athlete.

I looked up to my parents because they were very successful in what they wanted to do. I was lucky; I didn't have to look far for role models.

You know what I want to do? Wake up one weekend and not have to go anywhere and do nothing.

So many people are insanely busy nowadays, and it's easy to say, 'Ah, I'll workout tomorrow.' But you have to set aside a time and stick to that schedule.

I'm not a hermit, but I definitely stay in a lot more than I used to. There's more attention now then there ever was. You walk down the street with someone and it's a story. It becomes national news, you know what I mean? So, I still do things, but I stay home a lot more.

I'd like to get a degree. You ever see the movie 'Back to School?' I'll go back with my kids.

You're a person a lot longer before and after you're a professional athlete. People always say to me, 'Your image is this, your image is that.' Your image isn't your character. Character is what you are as a person. That's what I worry about.

If you're going to play at all, you're out to win. Baseball, board games, playing Jeopardy, I hate to lose.

Your image isn't your character. Character is what you are as a person.

My dreams do not end with playing Major League Baseball.

We just want to win. That's the bottom line. I think a lot of times people may become content with one championship or a little bit of success, but we don't really reflect on what we've done in the past. We focus on the present.

You don't just accidentally show up in the World Series.

My office is at Yankee stadium. Yes, dreams do come true.

When you put a lot of hard work into one goal and you achieve it, that's a really good feeling.

I'm not perfect; no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. I think you try to learn from those mistakes.