1992 93 Derek Jeter Signed Pre Rookie Original Photograph. PSA Type 1 Photo

Before He was the Captain!

An extraordinary glimpse into the very beginning of Derek Jeter’s legendary career, offered here is a signed Type I original photograph of Derek Jeter from 1992-93. The 4” x 6” candid image features a teenage Jeter during his time with the Greensboro Hornets and fittingly captures the future Yankees Captain signing a baseball for a fan. Even more remarkably, Jeter signed the photograph during the same pre-rookie era, evident by his early-style signature, presented beautifully in bold blue ink.

What makes this piece so special is the remarkable combination of photograph and signature. This image was taken at the very beginning of Jeter’s professional career, developed from the original negative, and then signed by Jeter while he was still a teenage minor leaguer. Signed Jeter photographs are plentiful after nearly two decades as one of baseball’s biggest stars, but pre-rookie signed photographs from his minor-league days are a completely different story. Pairing a contemporaneously developed Type I original photograph with Jeter’s matching early-era signature, examples like this are exceptionally scarce — we have seen only a handful come to market.

Selected sixth overall by the New York Yankees in the 1992 MLB Draft, Jeter was only 18 years old when he began his professional career that summer. After a brief introduction to professional baseball with the Gulf Coast Yankees, Jeter joined Greensboro, where he spent his first full professional season in 1993. The Hornets roster during this formative period also featured future Yankees Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Shane Spencer — players who would soon become part of the organization that defined an era in New York.

The image captures Jeter before five World Series Championships, 14 All-Star selections, 3,465 hits, iconic postseason moments, records, fame and nine-figure contracts. Here, he was simply an 18 or 19-year-old kid in the Yankees’ minor-league system trying to make it to the Major Leagues — an incredible artifact from the earliest chapter of “The Captain’s” story.

Jeter made his Major League debut in 1995 before becoming the face of baseball’s most storied franchise for the next two decades. A five-time World Series Champion, 14-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner, five-time Silver Slugger and 2000 World Series MVP, Jeter retired with 3,465 career hits — sixth-most in Major League history — and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.

Authenticated and Encapsulated by PSA/DNA as a Type I Original Photograph with an Authentic Autograph.