Bronx, United States: Derek Jeter closed out his glorious career at Yankee Stadium in epic fashion, knocking in the game-winning run with a walk-off single as New York slipped past the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 on Thursday.
Jeter said so long to the delirious Bronx faithful as the Yankees’ iconic captain winds down his two decades-long Major League Baseball career with a storybook ending in his final game at home.
“It has been a fun 20 years,” the 40-year-old Jeter said.
Jeter, who also barely missed a home run with an RBI double off the wall in his first plate appearance, looked calm on the outside but admitted he was a bundle of nerves in front of a sold-out crowd of 48,613.
“I don’t know what just happened,” the 14-time all-star said. “For the first time in my career I was saying ‘please don’t hit it to me’. I thought I was going to lose it, and then I had to get ready to hit.”
With the scored tied 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth, the future Hall-of-Famer stepped up with a runner on second base and blasted an opposite field single through the gap between first and second base.
Yankees’ Antoan Richardson then slid into home safely to beat the throw from Nick Markakis for the winning run, which touched off a wild celebration in the infield around Jeter.
“This was a weird game,” the shortstop said. “I am in tears right now, just a run of emotions.
“The first inning I was saying ‘don’t hit me a ground ball’. I was extremely nervous and uncomfortable. But it all worked out.”
The only down side is that Jeter’s magical finish came one day after the Yankees were eliminated from play-off contention by the Orioles.
The Yankees now play the Red Sox in a season-ending three-game series in Boston, where Jeter said he would finish his playing career.
Jeter plans to step aside as the team’s shortstop and bat as a designated hitter against Boston.
“Yes I will play in some capacity. This is my last game at shortstop. Out of respect to the Boston fans I will play,” he said.
Jeter said the last few weeks of his farewell tour have been mentally taxing.
“I think I’ve done a pretty good job of controlling my emotions throughout the course of my career. I’ve tried to hide them. Today I wasn’t able to do it.
“It was odd. The last few weeks got tougher and tougher. It was very difficult but always worth while.”
