Then and now: 1996 vs. 2010
It may seem like just yesterday that Derek Jeter's career started, but it's actually been 15 years since the Yankees shortstop began his quest for world domination.
So we thought we'd compare 1996 to the present, for Jeter, the Yankees and the rest of the world.
1996 | Category | 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| At 21, batted .314 with 10 home runs and 78 RBIs to win AL Rookie of the Year Award. Batted .361 in the playoffs as Yankees won first World Series since 1978. | Jeter | After winning his fifth World Series ring, the 35-year old is playing in the last year of a 10-year, $189-million contract. Batted .334 in 2009 and .355 in the playoffs to help the Yankees win their first World Series since 2000. |
| An up-and-coming team with an MLB-leading $53 million payroll rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Atlanta in the World Series. | Yankees | A team loaded with established stars and an MLB-leading $209 million payroll is set to defend its 27th World Championship after defeating Philadelphia in the 2009 World Series. |
| Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, 21, becomes the youngest to win Album of the Year award at the Grammys. | Music | Pennsylvania native Taylor Swift, 20, eclipses Alanis Morissette to become youngest to win Album of the Year award at the Grammys. |
| Whoopi Goldberg hosts the Oscars. "Braveheart" wins Best Picture, Nicolas Cage wins Best Actor for "Leaving Las Vegas" and Susan Sarandon wins Best Actress for "Dead Man Walking." | Movies | Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin host the Oscars. "The Hurt Locker" wins Best Picture, Jeff Bridges wins Best Actor for "Crazy Heart" and Sandra Bullock wins Best Actress for "The Blind Side." |
| Turns pro and signs endorsement deals worth $60 million. Wins two tournaments in three months and is named Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year." | Tiger Woods | During an infidelity scandal that forces him to take an indefinite leave from golf, reports of his alleged trysts leak out almost daily. Woods announces he will return to play at the Masters in April. |
| Helps the Chicago Bulls finish 72-10 to break the NBA record for wins in a season. The Bulls go on to win the NBA Championship. Earlier in the year, Daniel Green is convicted of murdering Jordan's father, James, in 1993. | Michael Jordan | Becomes majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. Implicated in a salacious Vanity Fair report in which Tiger Woods' former attorney accuses Jordan of leading Woods down a path of infidelity. |
| The Nintendo 64 system is released in Japan. Top-selling games include Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, Resident Evil for Playstation, and Donkey Kong Country 2 for the SNES. | Video games | Nintendo announces the launch of the Nintendo 3DS, which allows games to be played in 3D. Top-selling games include Bioshock 2 for XBox 360, New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii and Modern Warfare 2 for the PS3. |
| TWA Flight 800, en route from JFK to Paris, explodes off the coast of East Moriches, killing 230 people; Caroline McCarthy, widow of an LIRR shooting victim, successfully runs for Congress. | Long Island | A Rocky Point couple announces they have won a $165-million Mega Millions jackpot; record snow and rainstorms inundate Long Island with over 25 inches of precipitation, including 9.95 inches of rain in March alone. |
| Atlanta hosts the XXVI Summer Olympics. U.S. gymnast Kerri Strug lands a critical vault despite injuring her ankle on the previous jump to help the American women take the gold. U.S. sprinter Michael Johnson won gold in both the 200- and 400-meter runs. The Olympics are marred by the Olympic Park bombing, which killed a fan and injured 111 others. | Olympics | Vancouver hosts the XXI Winter Olympics. The U.S. hockey team loses to Canada in a dramatic overtime gold medal game. American Evan Lysacek wins the men's figure skating gold. The Olympics are marred by the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a luger from the Republic of Georgia, during a training run. |
| President Clinton signs welfare reform into law. In November, he wins re-election over Republican challenger Bob Dole. | Politics | President Obama signs health care reform into law. The U.S. government launches an extensive ad campaign encouraging people to fill out their census forms. |
| A blizzard in the Northeast kills more than 150 people and closes NYC schools for the first time in 18 years. Suspected "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski is arrested; JonBenet Ramsey is murdered in Boulder, Colo.; Tupac Shakur is shot and killed in Las Vegas. | In the news | A 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti kills at least 230,000 and devastates the capital of Port-au-Prince; an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile triggers a tsunami in the Pacific Ocean and kills 497 people. |
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