Old Timers’ Day is always a fun annual Yankees tradition regardless of how the team is performing and this year’s should be particularly exciting.
The Yankees have announced that Hall of Fame shortstop and former team captain Derek Jeter will attend this year. This year’s Old Timers’ Day, slated for Sept. 9, is the 75th in team history. It’s also particularly special because it’s the 25th anniversary of the 1998 Yankees’ record-setting season that ended with a World Series win.
Today we announced the roster of former Yankees who will be on hand at the 75th Old-Timers’ Day presented by @FreshDirect on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Yankee Stadium. 🙌
The event will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the legendary 1998 World Series championship team and feature… pic.twitter.com/C2fKjMpZC6
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 14, 2023
Old Timers’ Day is also undergoing a big change this year in that there will be no pickup game. Instead, as Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports, there will be a Q&A portion. It will be interesting to see how that works, particularly as fans are still filing into the stadium and only half-paying attention.
But such is the mystique, the draw of Derek Jeter. He hasn’t played in nearly a decade and still commands the room whenever he’s in the Bronx. We saw it during his belated Hall of Fame celebration last season. Aaron Judge might have the title now, but Derek Jeter is and always will be the Captain.
And ironically, Old Timers’ Day takes place exactly one year to the day of when Jeter came home again. At long last, after a quick detour in Miami, he was finally ready to be a Yankee again.
“I know you guys haven’t seen a lot of me over the last few years, for various reasons,” Jeter said. “But I really, truly do look forward to hopefully seeing a lot more of you here in the near future.”
It isn’t wrestling control of the front office from longtime nemesis Brian Cashman, but nothing bad ever comes from having Derek Jeter around. Old Timers’ Day may be changing, and maybe not necessarily for the better, but it doesn’t matter.
The fans will still turn out in droves for Jeter, like they always have.
