Baseball Guru
11-30-2001, 05:27 AM
By Mark Feinsand
MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Derek Jeter has done it all in his six-year career. From the Rookie of the Year award to All-Star Game and World Series MVP honors, the 27-year-old shortstop has accomplished more at this point than most players will in a career.
But Saturday, Jeter will join the ranks of Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Wayne Gretzky among others, as he hosts the Dec. 1 edition of Saturday Night Live on NBC. Shakira and Bubba Sparxxx will be the musical guests.
"We're thrilled to have Derek on the show," said executive producer Lorne Michaels. "We're at the stage of beginning rehearsals, we had a read-thru yesterday. This is going to be some funny stuff. There is still a dress rehearsal to get through, but I think we'll be all right."
"I have been a fan of the show for a long time, especially when Eddie Murphy was on it, and it was an honor to be asked to host," Jeter said. "It's a tough job, but I'm looking forward to it. I have had a lot of fun so far, and hopefully I'll be able to act a little bit and it can be funny."
Michaels said that the choice of Jeter as host was "pretty obvious" after the thrilling World Series and the events going on in New York City over the past months.
"We've wanted him for a long time, but the hardest part for us is that athletes can't do it during the season," Michaels said. "Derek seemed to embody everything that represented the spirit of both the Yankees and the city."
Jeter is the first member of the Yankees to host the show since George Steinbrenner did it on Oct. 20, 1990. Jeter said that he had not seen the tape of Steinbrenner's performance on the show, but he was going to try to get a copy of it so he could give The Boss a hard time.
"I am going to try to get those tapes so I can tease The Boss about what he did," Jeter joked. "I have to try to outperform him on Saturday Night Live."
Other athletes that have hosted the late-night variety show include Charles Barkley, Walter Payton, Bill Russell, Chris Evert, Nancy Kerrigan, Deion Sanders, George Foreman and former Yankees player and manager Billy Martin.
After just a couple of days on the Rockefeller Center set, Jeter said that preparing for the show is more difficult for him than readying himself for a game.
"Getting up in front of 40 or 50 people and reading your lines is intimidating," Jeter said. "I was very intimidated at first, but as the week goes on, I'm becoming a little more comfortable."
When asked if we may see Jeter in any unusual skits -- in drag, for instance -- Jeter clammed up, citing orders from Michaels.
"Everything's a big secret, so you're just going to have to wait until Saturday and watch," Jeter said. "This is all new to me, so whatever they ask me to do, I'll give it a try."
MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Derek Jeter has done it all in his six-year career. From the Rookie of the Year award to All-Star Game and World Series MVP honors, the 27-year-old shortstop has accomplished more at this point than most players will in a career.
But Saturday, Jeter will join the ranks of Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Wayne Gretzky among others, as he hosts the Dec. 1 edition of Saturday Night Live on NBC. Shakira and Bubba Sparxxx will be the musical guests.
"We're thrilled to have Derek on the show," said executive producer Lorne Michaels. "We're at the stage of beginning rehearsals, we had a read-thru yesterday. This is going to be some funny stuff. There is still a dress rehearsal to get through, but I think we'll be all right."
"I have been a fan of the show for a long time, especially when Eddie Murphy was on it, and it was an honor to be asked to host," Jeter said. "It's a tough job, but I'm looking forward to it. I have had a lot of fun so far, and hopefully I'll be able to act a little bit and it can be funny."
Michaels said that the choice of Jeter as host was "pretty obvious" after the thrilling World Series and the events going on in New York City over the past months.
"We've wanted him for a long time, but the hardest part for us is that athletes can't do it during the season," Michaels said. "Derek seemed to embody everything that represented the spirit of both the Yankees and the city."
Jeter is the first member of the Yankees to host the show since George Steinbrenner did it on Oct. 20, 1990. Jeter said that he had not seen the tape of Steinbrenner's performance on the show, but he was going to try to get a copy of it so he could give The Boss a hard time.
"I am going to try to get those tapes so I can tease The Boss about what he did," Jeter joked. "I have to try to outperform him on Saturday Night Live."
Other athletes that have hosted the late-night variety show include Charles Barkley, Walter Payton, Bill Russell, Chris Evert, Nancy Kerrigan, Deion Sanders, George Foreman and former Yankees player and manager Billy Martin.
After just a couple of days on the Rockefeller Center set, Jeter said that preparing for the show is more difficult for him than readying himself for a game.
"Getting up in front of 40 or 50 people and reading your lines is intimidating," Jeter said. "I was very intimidated at first, but as the week goes on, I'm becoming a little more comfortable."
When asked if we may see Jeter in any unusual skits -- in drag, for instance -- Jeter clammed up, citing orders from Michaels.
"Everything's a big secret, so you're just going to have to wait until Saturday and watch," Jeter said. "This is all new to me, so whatever they ask me to do, I'll give it a try."