The New York Yankees held a ceremony to honor retiring shortstop Derek Jeter on Sunday. The game won't be his final at Yankee Stadium -- the Yankees have at least 11 home games remaining -- but New York set aside a special day to make sure it could show its appreciation.
New York honors Derek Jeter at Yankee Stadium
A host of Yankee greats and roaring fans gave Jeter a proper goodbye.
The Star-Ledger-USA TODAY Sports
"I want to thank you, the fans." #yankees https://t.co/Z62Hzu6vIV
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) September 7, 2014 Among many other things, the gifts given to Jeter included a $222,222 donation to his Turn 2 Foundation, a trip to Tuscany and a massage machine. His boyhood idol, Michael Jordan, was there. So was Cal Ripken. A few dozen of the best Yankees of all time were in attendance as well.
The ceremony also included an impassioned speech from Jeter:
“Anyone who is here today, anyone who is at home watching, anyone who has ever been over the course, over the last 20 seasons, thank you very much. You guys have watched me grow up over the last 20 years. I’ve watched you, too. Some of you guys are getting older, too. I want to thank you for helping me feel like a kid the last 20 years.”
He seemed to make an homage to Lou Gehrig’s famous speech as well:
“In my opinion, I’ve had the greatest job in the world. I’ve had a chance to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees -- and there is only one of those. I always felt my job was to try and provide joy and entertainment for you guys, but it can’t compare to what you brought me. For that, thank you very much. I’ve loved what I’ve done. I love what I do. More importantly, I’ve loved doing it for you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much.”
Mickey Mantle did the same thing. He always wondered how Gehrig said what he said at his own ceremony, but in the moment, he understood the Iron Horse’s sentiment.
Jeter picked up a hit and a walk on the day, but the Yankees lost to the Royals, 2-0. Most people might forget that part of the day, though. After 20 years of playing for the most storied franchise in baseball, Derek Sanderson Jeter made an impression on the game that will find its way to Cooperstown soon enough.
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