Derek Jeter’s impeccable major league baseball career featured moments that will remain irreplaceable in New York Yankees lore.
To put it lightly, Derek Jeter had a flare for the dramatic in his legendary 20-year major league baseball career — all with the New York Yankees.
“The Captain” and his .310 lifetime average, 3,465 hits (sixth all-time), and five world championships cemented a place among the Yankee greats. When it is all said and done, he will earn a place with baseball’s exclusive group in Cooperstown — likely with the 2019 Hall of Fame class.
Jeter’s longevity, heroics, and overall impact — all while playing in one of the most successful eras in franchise history — recently earned him one of the most exceptional honors an athlete can be recognized with. An honor that propels rockstar status into a state of immortality.
On May 14, 2017, Jeter’s No. 2 will be retired, along with a plaque in the illustrious monument park at Yankee Stadium, forever stamping his name and achievements in baseball’s cathedral. Furthermore, out of respect for what he brought the organization, no player will ever be able to sport the pinstripes the way he did.
Throughout a career that can be chalked up as an astounding success, there were a few signature moments that defined Jeter as the face of New York sports.
Elite Sports NY brings you the top five.
Honorable Mention
Hit No. 2,722
As the years continued to pass by, fans in the Bronx began to get the feeling that Derek Jeter was on to something special. Having already won four titles in the Big Apple, the shortstop was on pace to break Yankee records, putting his name alongside the likes of Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Joe DiMaggio.
On September 11, 2009, he solidified himself as one of the best players in franchise history. On a rainy night at the new Yankee Stadium, Jeter drilled a 2-0 Chris Tillman fastball down the right field line. With his classic inside-out swing, he moved past Lou Gehrig as the Yankees’ all-time hits leader.
That same year, the Captain helped the Yanks christen their new stadium, winning his fifth career World Series title and the organization’s 27th.
For Yankee fans, it was most certainly a monumental day. For Jeter, it was another hit on his climb up baseball’s prestigious mountain.
5. Yankees-Red Sox: The Catch
On July 1, 2004, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox played, according to Michael Kay, “One of the greatest games you will ever see!”
Derek Jeter largely contributed to that statement, heightening the intensity of the clash.
With the game tied at three in the top of the 12th, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with two outs. Trot Nixon proceed to hit a blooper down the left field line, putting the outcome of the game up in the air.
Out of nowhere came Jeter, making the catch with a full head of steam and flying into the left field stands in foul ground. The catch had an awfully special feel to it, plain and simple.
It not only exemplified the Captain’s status as a “gamer,” but it kept the Yankees in an epic and pivotal clash they would eventually go on to win. He was willing to put his body and career on the line for his team.
4. 2001 ALDS Game 3: “The Flip”
With the Yankees trailing two games to none in the 2001 ALDS, they led the Oakland A’s 1-0 in the seventh inning of Game 3.
With Mike Mussina on the hill, Terrence Long drilled the right-hander’s offering down the right field line, where Shane Spencer fielded the ball and airmailed both cutoff men. Once the throw came sailing down the first base line, it was almost a sure bet that Jeremy Giambi would score from first base to tie the game.
Not on Jeter’s watch.
The shortstop raced across the diamond, picked up the errant throw, and made an off-balance shovel flip to catcher Jorge Posada, who applied the tag.
FOX play-by-play broadcaster Thom Brennaman described the flip as “one of the most unbelievable plays you will ever see by a shortstop.” He was right.
New York won Game 3 and proceeded to win the next two elimination games back in the Bronx, stunning the Athletics and advancing to the American League Championship Series.
3. Hit No. 3,000
This was the only milestone Jeter had left to lock up a spot in Cooperstown — if he had not done so already.
On July 9, 2011, in front a packed house at Yankee Stadium, the 37-year-old, who always dreamed of wearing the pinstripes, stepped up to the plate. Facing David Price, Jeter showcased unexpected power, tattooing a payoff pitch into the left field bleachers for hit No. 3,000.
Did we speak of his flare for the dramatic?
With the smash, he became the 28th man (at the time) to reach the plateau.
He, of course, did not stop there. That knock, however, will be remembered by all 21st century Yankee fans.
2. Mr. November
In 2001, a year that featured an epic World Series between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks, baseball was played into November for the first time.
On that very night — or day, for that matter — New York pulled off a win for the ages. Trailing 2-1 in the World Series, and 3-1 in the ninth inning of Game 4, Tino Martinez drilled a two-run, game-tying blast off Arizona closer Byung-Hyun Kim.
An inning later, and four minutes after the clock struck midnight, officially moving major league baseball into the month of November, Jeter stepped up against Kim.
RELATED: There Is Only One 'Mr. November'
On a 3-2 pitch, the 27-year-old drilled a shot into the right field seats, sending 55,863 fans into a frenzy.
No matter how often the World Series continues to be played in November, the Captain will forever be remembered as the individual who set the tone.
No one else will ever take his title as “Mr. November.”
1. The Send-Off
If you want to define the term “hollywood ending,” reference this. Derek Jeter’s final game at Yankee Stadium was the epitome of a storybook finish, with the final page of a brilliant career being left in his hands.
Somehow, an expected torrential downpour held off on September 25, 2014. Somehow, David Robertson allowed two tremendous home runs, amounting to the three runs needed to tie the game, in the top of the ninth inning.
And, somehow, Jeter stepped up with the winning run out there at second base in the bottom of the ninth.
He simply was not going to squander the opportunity to end his career with a bang.
On the first pitch from right-hander Evan Meek, Jeter laced a single to right, scoring Antoan Richardson from second base, winning the game for New York, and closing the final chapter of his storied career — two truly remarkable decades.
“Derek Jeter: Where fantasy becomes reality,” as perfectly stated by YES Network broadcaster Michael Kay.
On May 14, another “reality” will come to light. One of the organization’s classiest representatives will be situated with the best to ever wear a uniform with the interlocking NY.