The New York Yankees have their pantheon of heroes, each with a singular legacy. But two of those Yankees—Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez—are in the shocking process of swapping narratives.
New York Yankees greats usually write their final legacy with their last at-bats. Fans and observers had every reason to think just that when A-Rod and Jeter each closed their long-running shows in New York with their memorable moments.
For Derek, that meant going out the winner he always was. That final night at Yankees Stadium, his last playing shortstop, was even better than many remember.
Derek didn’t just show up to save the day in the bottom of the ninth. Instead, he put his imprimatur on the game from the beginning. In his first AB, with the Yankees already down by two to Baltimore, Jeter ripped a double to left center, scoring the speedy Brett Gardner from first.
This was always one of Jeets best yet least recognized skills: Helping the team score its first run after the other team scores first. I believe but do not have the time to prove that Derek was involved with more such plays than any contemporary.
I want to prove this, I really do, but my wife keeps an overnight bag by the door just in case I ever start the research.
Prove it All Night
It was like that all night. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jeter was both lucky and good. He managed to reach first safely due to an error, sending Ichiro Suzuki and Jose Pirela home; that made it 4-2 Yankees.
And of course, he was granted one more gift from the gods—#Respect—when they allowed the Orioles to tie the score off of RHP David Robertson in the top of the ninth.
Because in the final frame, Pirela dribbled a seeing-eye single to left to lead off, and, after Gardy sacrifice bunted him to second, Jeter collected only the tenth walk-off of his career (including home runs). Mobbing ensued.
Derek played his final three games in Boston as a DH, but this was his last game at Yankee Stadium. No one who saw it, and the commercials melting cheddar all over him, could ever forget.