Jeter a cheater? Act strikes a nerve

Derek Jeter ... cheater?

Well, there's a new one.

Jeter, the New York Yankees' Hall of Fame-bound shortstop, was honored last year as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. When the World Series champion Yankees visited the White House in April, President Barack Obama singled out Jeter and lauded him for - you guessed it - a career of superior sportsmanship.

Now this.

Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, Jeter was awarded first base with his Oscar-worthy performance on a phantom hit-by-pitch sequence. He feigned injury, flinging the bat away, doubling over and grimacing as trainer Gene Monaghan rushed to home plate. TV replays indicated the inside pitch by Tampa Bay's Chad Qualls actually struck the knob of Jeter's bat, not his arm, making a clearly audible whack. Umpires bought Jeter's act.

It immediately set up a two-run homer by Curtis Granderson, temporarily giving New York a one-run lead. But the Rays rallied to win 4-3 and reclaim first place in the American League East, diffusing much of the play's impact.

Still, the controversy won't die.

Clearwater's Robert Reader, a retired insurance man, felt his anger growing while watching Jeter fake the injury. Then he thought of something else.

"My 12-year-old grandson might be seeing this," Reader said Thursday. "Is this really the proper behavior for a guy who is a role model for millions of kids?"

"I'm just kind of sad," said Tampa's Mary Ann Newsome. "My son plays ball. He looks up to a guy like Derek Jeter, who, I always thought, was the best one out there. I really don't want kids to think it's OK to do this."

Public debate met uncomfortably at the confluence of mainstream ethics and baseball tradition, where practices such as stealing signs and doctoring balls are not only accepted, they are often celebrated.

"Baseball seems to be the only sport where cheating is looked upon with some degree of fondness," said Tampa lawyer Marquis Heilig, who writes a Tampa Bay Rays blog (TheRayArea.com) that is part of ESPN.com's "Sweet Spot" network. "If you're looking for your kids to learn life lessons, I guess you should put them in golf, not baseball."

Part of the game?

It's commonplace for professional golfers to call rules violations on themselves. At the PGA Championships, Dustin Johnson was penalized for grounding his club in a bunker after finishing the 18th hole in an apparent three-way tie.

It seemed harsh to casual golf fans, but officials and the golf establishment had a simple justification: Rules are rules.

"That has been the gentleman's game for years and years," said Pop Cuesta, the baseball coach at Jefferson High School since 1973. "That's not a good comparison. Baseball has its own way and what happened with Derek Jeter is part of the game."

Part of the game. You hear that a lot from baseball people.

Cuesta remembers learning something from a cousin who played professional baseball. If the ball comes in on you, the cousin said, pinch yourself on the arm. Leave a red mark. If the umpire sees it, you might get awarded first base.

"That stuff has been going on a long time," Cuesta said.

King High School coach Jim Macaluso said it's OK to steal signs from the dugout by picking up the pattern of an opposing coach. It's not OK for a baserunner to reach second, watch the catcher's signals, then tip off the batter on a curveball or inside pitch.

"You see pitches that just nick a puffed-out jersey, a guy turns into it, sells it, the umpire thinks he got hit," Macaluso said. "It is part of the game. It's the batter's job to get to first base. That was Derek Jeter's job. You're not going to refuse to go to first base. It's the umpire's job to get the call right."

The baseball philosophy runs counter to a popular sportsmanship television commercial, produced by the Foundation for a Better Life. In a tight high school basketball game, possession is awarded to the home team. But one player speaks up, saying he actually knocked the ball out of bounds.

"I touched it, Coach. It's their ball," the player says before apologizing to his disgusted teammates, realizing his honesty might decide the championship.

The coach, initially downcast, suddenly waves the player back: "Good call."

Idealistic? Probably. Unrealistic in the world of professional sports? Absolutely.

"Trust me, I'm not one to condone cheating, but there are different forms of cheating," said Jim Rome, host of a nationally syndicated sports radio program. "If you want to say to me, 'Well, I thought Jeter was different. ... No, he's not. Not in that regard.

"Personally, I don't have a problem with this. And I don't think he let down our nation's youth. ... Have you watched a lot of major league baseball? If you do, you know it happens all the time. How is this a news flash to anybody?"

Detractors and defenders

The news flash might be that America's sports fans, for the first time ever, are questioning the character of Jeter, a Tampa resident who does considerable local charitable work with his Turn 2 Foundation.

"I've heard this talk, but look, it's a baseball game," University of South Florida baseball coach Lelo Prado said. "Every parent should want their kid to be like Derek Jeter. He's one of the classiest people to ever play this game."

The Rays agree with that.

"I admire Derek a lot," Rays pitcher James Shields said. "He stands for everything that's right with this game."

Rays manager Joe Maddon was incredulous at the call, particularly because the ball caromed back into fair territory.

"I thought it was going to be a line drive to right field," Maddon said.

At the same time, Maddon added, "If one of our guys had done it, I would've applauded, too. It was a great performance."

Jeter admitted the same afterward.

He said his dramatic reaction was due to the bat's "vibration."

Pause.

"And acting."

"I've been hit before and they said it hit the bat," Jeter said. "So it goes both ways. Fortunately for us, it paid off at the time. But surely, it would have been a bigger story had we won the game."

Monday, on the first day of this week's Rays-Yankees three-game series, a reporter asked Jeter about his sterling reputation.

"It's not like I never make mistakes in my life," Jeter said. "I try to carry myself in the best manner possible."

Fair or not, a lot of people viewed Jeter in a different light Wednesday night.

"I know he does a lot of good for a lot of people," said Newsome, the mother of a Little League player. "Maybe I'm naïve. I guess I just expected better."