Yankees legend Derek Jeter recalls unexpected story of how he was named captain in 2003: "I get a message saying the boss wants to talk to you"

Before Aaron Judge was named captain, Derek Jeter was the most recent captain of the New York Yankees. He retired in 2014 after serving 12 years as the captain. He was first given the role in 2003 by owner George Steinbrenner.

Speaking to the Player's Tribune, Jeter recounted how he was informed of his new title and that he was not expecting it whatsoever.

“I thought I was in trouble.”

@derekjeter takes us back to 2003 to tell the story of how he was named captain of the @Yankees. https://t.co/m8jCRYWYVK

Jeter said:

"I thought I was in trouble. This was 2003. I had a great relationship with George Steinbrenner. Every off-season, we'd get together and we'd have dinner. Every year, I'd go in his office. He'd tell me, 'I need you to be focused. I need you to be disciplined, I need you to lead the Yankees.'"

He continued:

"Someone asked [Steinbrenner] about me. He said, 'I need him to be focused. I need him to be disciplined, I don't want to read about him being at a birthday party till 3:00 in the morning.'"

He added:

"They asked me, 'Are you doing anything different this off-season?' I said, 'No, I'm doing everything the same.' So it's, 'Party on.' I refused to change my partying ways to make the boss happy."

He continued:

"I invited all my teammates over to my house for dinner and we're going out after. We go out to this club, there's 15 of us. Next day, front page of paper, picture of me. And it says, 'It's 3:00 in the morning, Derek's still out.' Next morning, I get a message saying the boss wants to talk to you."

It worked out for Jeter, who was named captain at that meeting and would go on to become one of the most iconic players in sports history.

How many rings did Derek Jeter win as captain of the New York Yankees?

Derek Jeter was a five-time champion for the New York Yankees and a near-unanimous Hall of Famer.

When he was named captain, he had already won four of those championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. Steinbrenner would have probably expected a similar trajectory after being named captain, but it was not to be.

Fortunately, Derek Jeter and the Yankees earned another title in 2009, their last to date in 2023.