Greater than three many years in the past, Dick Groch made a declaration that helped change the course of Yankees historical past.
The Yankees held the No. 6 choose within the 1992 draft, and though Derek Jeter was excessive on their board, they knew the high-school shortstop from Kalamazoo, Mich., had dedicated to play faculty baseball for the Michigan Wolverines.
“He’s not going to the University of Michigan,” Groch, a scout who had carefully adopted Jeter, famously stated on a Yankees convention name. “The only place Derek Jeter is going is Cooperstown.”
Groch died Wednesday night time at age 84, based on MLB.com.
Jeter was amongst these to supply condolences, writing Thursday on social media, “RIP Dick Groch. My Yankees scout who believed in me and signed me. Thoughts and prayers are with your family and loved ones.”
Whereas he was greatest recognized publicly for his ties to Jeter, Groch spent many years as a well-respected expertise evaluator for the Montreal Expos, Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers.
Groch left the Yankees in 2002, following basic supervisor Bob Melvin to assist flip round a Brewers crew that missed the playoffs 24 years in a row from 1983 to 2007. Milwaukee made the playoffs six occasions from 2008-21, the final of which being the ultimate 12 months that Groch was listed within the Brewers’ media information.
However Groch’s contributions to the Yankees had come to fruition lengthy earlier than he left the group.
The Yankees chosen Jeter in 1992, and he shortly made Groch appear to be a genius. Throughout his 20-season profession in pinstripes from 1995-2014, Jeter received 5 World Collection, acquired 14 All-Star alternatives, earned 5 Gold Glove Awards and was named the crew captain in 2003.
Jeter’s 3,465 hits rank sixth in MLB historical past and are probably the most ever by a Yankee. He hit .310 with 260 residence runs, 1,311 RBI and 358 stolen bases in 2,747 common season video games, whereas his 200 postseason hits stay an MLB report.
“I always thought that when you were looking at a shortstop, the highest compliment you could give him was that he was acrobatic,” Groch advised Yankees Journal of Jeter in a 2017 characteristic.
“It was eye-catching. It was so exciting that it took me away from the rest of the camp. … I was standing next to the assistant baseball coach from Michigan State University. He said, ‘Man, I need to get that kid’s information, send him some stuff about Michigan State.’ I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Save your postage!’”
Jeter, in fact, was inducted into the Nationwide Baseball Corridor of Fame in 2020 — simply as Groch predicted. In his first 12 months of eligibility, Jeter acquired 396 of a attainable 397 votes (99.7%), tying him with Ichiro Suzuki for the second-highest share within the historical past of the Corridor.
Solely Mariano Rivera, a teammate of Jeter on all 5 championship groups, acquired a better share as the one unanimous choice ever.
“He gets the accolades for Jeter, and that he should, but I liked Dick because he created good debate in meetings,” Melvin advised MLB.com. “He didn’t just sit there and agree with everybody. He made you debate from the other side of the table to make sure you’re right.”
