'I want to start a FAMILY': Yankees legend Derek Jeter explains reason for his shock retirement

The Daily Mail ^ | 19 February 2014 | JAMES NYE and ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER

[MinorityRepublican]

Derek Jeter announced today that he wants to walk away from 20 years at the top of major league baseball to start a family.

The New York Yankees captain answered question for nearly half an hour on Wednesday, exactly one week after his shock announcement his is to retire at the end of the coming season.

Looking optimistically forward to the future, the legend said that he is looking forward to beginning a family despite splitting recently from Victoria's Secret model Hannah Davis.

Indeed, Jeter's history with women could cause many to raise an eyebrow at the notorious ladies man's declared desire to settle down. And with a track record of beautiful women that includes two Victoria's Secret Model's, one Miss Universe, Scarlet Johannson, Minka Kelly and Mariah Carey, who would blame them? 'You can't do this forever. I'd like to,' he said. 'There's some things I look forward to doing.' 'I want to have a family,' Jeter told a packed-house press conference.

[Alberta's Child]

I guess he's suggesting that he can't be devoted to both his career and his family obligations at the same time. I don't hold that against him -- it's probably true for many professional athletes who DO have families.

Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils had an epiphany of sorts almost ten years ago. He was a phenomenal hockey player and a freak of nature who kept himself in superb condition to play at a high level past the age of 40. He missed some time with recurring concussion symptoms in 2004, then announced his retirement in 2005 after the NHL lockout cancelled the 2004-05 season. It was assumed that his retirement decision was motivated by the concussion problems, but he said later that the canceled season simply made him step back and realize how much of his home/personal life he had missed.

[CorporateStepsister]

At least he hasn’t married and kept a bunch of lovers on the side. He’s no adulterer and hasn’t humiliated a wife and devastated his kids in that way. He’s not currently going through some midlife crisis and decides to divorce a wife and leave his kids behind as he finds out how ‘cool’ banging a bunch of tarts would be now that he’s at the top and leaving. He’s someone who has been that decent, I find that admirable.

[discostu]

A lot of athletes keep a girl (or more than a) in every town. It looks like Jeter was smart enough to realize that wasn’t a lifestyle conducive to having a wife and kids. So he enjoyed an extended bachelorhood, and with coming to that age of retirement it’s time to change. Missing most of last season with injury probably caused a lot of thinking, and it looks like some of that thinking realized that super model girlfriends aren’t that good at nursemaid duty.

[dmz]

The rigors of pro baseball certainly hasn’t stopped many other players from being good family men and Dads. Jeter sounds pretty selfish making his hundreds of millions, spending his youth womanizing, and suddenly quitting in his 40s to “start a family.”

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If that seems selfish to you, so be it. There might be other ways of looking at this situation that are not so negative towards Jeter - maybe now he can both take care of his family financially and be there for his family without the being on the road for much of the year.

As for his womanizing ... none of my concern. I don’t care.

I cannot believe I’m defending a New York Yankee. They’re gonna pull my O’s fan card for this.

[ken5050]

DiMaggio?

[albertabound]

not people friendly...my son and his daughter were in a hotel in Puerto Rico and while waiting for an elevator, up walked Jeter my son quickly went to his room and like all good old ball players grabbed a baseball out of his bag and Derek signed it .