"I was never a baseball fan" - When Derek Jeter's wife Hannah made a startling admission about her first meeting with Yankees icon

When Derek Jeter met his wife, Hannah, in 2012, he was arguably the most popular man in New York. His future wife, however, had no idea about the millions of fans that practically worshipped the legendary Yankees shortstop.

Regarded by many as one of the best baseball players of all time, Jeter earned fourteen All-Star selections, five Gold Glove awards, five Silver Slugger awards and a World Series MVP award. During his 20 years wearing the famous pinstripes, he led his team to five World Series titles. His iconic No. 2 jersey was retired by the organization in 2017.

For Hannah, however, it was Derek Jeter the man, and not Derek Jeter the player, that she fell in love with. Reflecting on her early days of dating the Hall of Famer, Hannah Jeter wrote about how she didn't even know what position he played.

"I thought he was a pitcher," Hannah wrote for The Players' Tribune in February 2017. "I know it sounds strange that I didn’t know he was a shortstop. When a mutual friend introduced us while I was at dinner with my mom in New York, I didn’t really know who Derek was at all. I can just imagine all of the New Yorkers reading this right now thinking, Oh, come aawwnn. They probably don’t believe me.

"You probably don’t believe me. But it’s true.Don’t get me wrong: I’d been living in the city for a couple of years — and I know I saw Yankees hats and probably a Jeter jersey or two (or 100), but they didn’t register. I grew up in the Virgin Islands, on St. Thomas, which is only about three miles wide. Baseball wasn’t really 'a thing.' We didn’t have professional teams to obsess over so I was never a baseball fan."

Derek Jeter's wife Hannah talks about her approach to parenting and how it often surprised the Yankees superstar

"The Captain" Premiere - 2022 Tribeca Festival - Source: Getty

Having tied the knot in 2016, Derek Jeter and his wife, Hannah, have four children together: three daughters named Bella, Story and River, and a son named Kaius. Despite living in times where technology is pretty much everywhere, Hannah Jeter has expressed her desire to raise her children in a more traditional way.

"We’ve sort of taken technology out of it" Hannah Jeter told Editorialist. "I grew up in a small community, my mom was a teacher, we had lots of arts and crafts going on. I think I raise my kids just how my mom raised me — being outside with nature and animals, trying not to be so on top of them, giving them safe places to explore and use their imagination. I really value that."

2021 National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Source: Getty

Incidentally, her hands-on parenting approach even surprised her husband on many occasions.

"Most days my husband comes home and he’s like, ‘Holy crap’ — because I’m covered in paint or glue," Hannah Jeter added. "I was literally painting a birdhouse yesterday."

With his playing days now behind him, Derek Jeter is a full-time dad, spending plenty of time with his wife and young children.