By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Copyright newsweek
Derek Jeter famously knew he wanted to play for the New York Yankees when he was 5 years old. Dick Groch didn’t choose baseball over basketball until he was a married father of two.
Yet the two men became intertwined for eternity in 1992. In June of that year, the Yankees held the sixth overall pick in the amateur draft. Groch, then a Yankees scout, recommended to owner George Steinbrenner that he use the pick on Jeter, a high schooler in Michigan.
More news: Former Yankees, Red Sox All-Star Announces Immediate Retirement
Groch, who died Wednesday at 84, scouted plenty of other players who would go on to play Major League Baseball. But none was more famous than Jeter, the Yankees’ captain of five World Series championship teams over a 20-year playing career.
Longtime Brewers front-office member Dick Groch passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 84.Groch, a native of Toledo, is perhaps best known for signing a young HS shortstop named Derek Jeter during his tenure as a scout with the Yankees.— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) October 2, 2025
Groch saw enough from Jeter in high school that he reportedly told his superiors the shortstop would someday be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2020, those words proved accurate.
Before he was a scout, Groch coached college baseball and basketball — his best sport as a player for Olivet College.
Groch went on to coach baseball at St. Clair Community College from 1965-83. Current Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson was among his charges. He also coached Team USA in the 1979 Pan American Games, then for Canada in the 1983 Pan-Am Games, and the 1985 Intercontinental Cup.
More news: Former Yankees, Cubs Outfielder Passes Away
Groch scouted for the Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers, for whom he was serving as a special assistant in recent years.
In addition to Jeter, Groch signed Hal Morris, Mark Hutton, Scott Kamieniecki, Hensley Meulens, Drew Henson, Casey Close, Tim Belcher, Tim Birtsas and Jason Robertson.
More news: Former Yankees Pitcher, World Series Champion Passes Away
“Baseball was a passion and love,” Groch told The Oklahoman in a 2015 interview, “in terms of, I’ve always felt it’s one of those game whether you’re coaching or whether you’re scouting, there’s always that diamond in the rough, there’s always the thrill of the hunt.”
Groch’s scouting acument allowed him to work in baseball for decades. But one name will be associated with him forever: Jeter.
“I’ve seen a lot of kids,” Groch said in a 2011 interview, “and watching Derek was like the difference between going to the Kentucky Derby and going to a race at the county fair.”
For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
