New York Yankees: Derek Jeter on his defense, “the flip play”

After a long wait, the Baseball Hall of Fame class, including Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons, and Larry Walker will finally be enshrined into Cooperstown on September 8.

With the 2020 festivities postponed by COVID-19, Jeter will take his place among the immortals of baseball. It’s a moment that New York Yankees fans have been waiting for since it was announced that the 14-time All-Star was named on 396 of the 397 ballots cast by voting members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).

As many accolades as Jeter may have accumulated and as many plays as he may have been a part of during his 20-year career, there is, according to Jeter, no play more associated with him than “the flip play” that happened on October 13, 2001.

Here is what Derek Jeter says about “the flip play” in the New York Yankees’ momentum-shifting postseason win over the Oakland A’s.

In preparation for his Hall of Fame induction, Jeter met with the media on Thursday afternoon and the first question posed to him was about his defense and “the flip play.”

It was the seventh inning of the third game of the 2001 American League Division Series. Oakland had already won the first two games of the series in New York and was looking to grab the momentum in Game 3 in Oakland.

Here’s how the iconic play was broken down by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch in this article. You can then see the play for yourself below.

"Terrence Long smacks a Mike Mussina pitch down the right-field line, where it is fielded by Shane Spencer, who wildly overthrows both cutoff men. Jeter appears near the first-base foul line, shoveling the ball to catcher Jorge Posada. The A’s Jeremy Giambi does not slide and is tagged out to preserve a 1-0 Yankees lead."

The Yankees would go on to win that game by a 1-0 score and take the next two games as well to oust the Athletics.

On Thursday, here’s what Jeter said about the much-discussed play that swung the momentum in New York’s favor.

“I’d say it’s probably the one play I get asked about the most. It’s the one play I see the most,” Jeter said. “Look, I was where I was supposed to be. It’s something we worked on in spring training. Actually, flipping home is not part of the job, but we sort of improvised there at the end, but I was in the area where I was supposed to be. Fortunately, everything worked out.”

Jeter added that he is often asked if Giambi had slid if he would have been safe, his answer was “Probably, but he didn’t.”

And yes, Jeter emphasized he gets asked more about that play than the dive into the stands to catch a ball in extra innings against the Boston Red Sox in 2004.

“I think it’s a little further down the line,” Jeter said about the amount of times he is asked about his diving catch against Boston versus other plays. “It’s the flip play, the jump throw, and some of the relays, but they do mention that play (the dive) because of our opponent.”

More from Baseball Hall of Fame

• General manager vets who are candidates for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s executive suite
• How one writer ended June with a flurry of MLB games throughout the country
• Why Billy Wagner belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame
• The Hall of Fame case for Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins
• San Francisco Giants star Jeff Kent deserved better on Hall of Fame ballot

While it was one play that perhaps defines Jeter’s career and his hustle, defensive metrics haven’t been kind to Jeter. His career Defensive Runs Saved total of -152 is the worst recorded and he finished his career with -8.3 dWAR. Jeter knows the numbers, but also shrugs them off.

“I get analytics entered the game a little bit more at the end of my career,” Jeter said. “As you get older, I played my first game in New York when I was 20 and my last one when I was 40, you probably slow down a little towards the end of your career. That’s what is supposed to happen.

“I prided myself on being consistent. Is it fair to say probably my last year wasn’t as good as the middle of my career? I’m sure it’s fair to say that, but my job is to be consistent and, day in and day out, be accountable so I don’t really pay much attention to it now that I’m not playing any more, so I don’t really think it makes a difference.”