Legendary New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter says he would’ve moved out of NYC if the Bombers dropped the series to the Mets.
‘The Captain’ Derek Jeter recently sat down with YES Network’s Jack Curry to reminisce on his illustrious career. Nonetheless, the interview took an interesting turn when the two longtime friends discussed the pressures that came with the 2000 World Series against the New York Mets.
The Subway Series pitted the New York Yankees against their crosstown rivals for an all-time World Series showdown to kick off the new millennium. Jeter and the Yankees were looking to cap off a fantastic three-peat, while the talented Mets squad hoped to play spoiler in the Fall Classic.
Jeter understood the magnitude of the new millennium’s first taste of World Series competition, noting in the interview that the Yanks “had everything to lose.”
Penned as ‘The Battle of New York,’ Jeter felt that despite the emergence of the Core Four and the 1998 super team during the pique of the Yankees dynasty, more work had to be done in 2000 to validate the team’s supremacy of the city.
“If we didn’t win that World Series against the Mets, I think I would’ve moved out of the city,” he said.
Jeter gave a perfect illustration of just how serious the battle for New York supremacy was. The burden of losing the city’s bragging rights could’ve cost Jeter his home in Manhattan. If that description doesn’t show how competitive the near-unanimous Hall of Famer is, then who knows what will?