By Jason Klein
It was supposed to mark the end of my childhood.
Instead, I got thrown right back in the middle of it.
I was a kid again – despite having kids of my own now – all because the kid from Kalamazoo did what he always does…one last time.
Jeter Leaps Following His Walk-Off Hit.
Thursday night against the Orioles, in his final Yankee Stadium at bat, Derek Jeter poked a bottom of the ninth, game winning RBI single to right field. In the last huge moment of his twenty-year career, Jeter came through again.
Of course he did.
His storied career is loaded with sweet ice cream sundae moments, and this last one will sit near the top like a cherry. Captain Clutch’s latest greatest moment didn’t surprise anyone who’s been paying attention for the past two decades. It certainly didn’t shock me. Instead, it brought me right back to the late-90s, when these types of things happened with regularity.
After securing victory, Jeter leapt high into the Bronx night, the way he used to back when I was in high school. In that moment, his recent injury woes and diminished abilities didn’t matter. The forty candles on his last birthday cake didn’t matter either. In that moment, the only thing that mattered was that Derek Jeter – at least for one night – was a kid again, flying high through the sky, arms raised, like the super hero he’s been for more than half my life.
Teammates Celebrate With Jeter.
He always seems to save the day for the Yankees.
As teammates flooded the field, so did memories of previous triumphs, so magical and so perfect, you’d think the whole thing was a Hollywood script. Instead, it’s reality, and Jeter’s been the one writing history, one remarkable moment at a time, for the past twenty seasons.
When the spotlight – and camera phone flashes – were brightest, that’s when Jeter would always shine brighter. Thursday night was no exception. His walk-off hit was so reminiscent of past Jeter conquests, you’d swear you saw the Posadas, Pettittes, Bernies, Tinos, Torres and Mos out there celebrating victory with him.
And then they actually were.
Torre, Posada, Rivera & Martinez Wait To Walk Jeter into Retirement.
Jeter’s baseball brothers stood behind home plate in the Bronx, quietly watching their former teammate do what he always seems to do…one last time. Then, they too congratulated him and symbolically asked him to join them in retirement.
It was a poignant moment that, no doubt, had Jeter fighting back some tears.
“I think I’ve done a pretty good job of controlling my emotions throughout my career,” he would later say, “but today, I wasn’t able to.”
Neither were those of us watching the drama unfold.
Eliminated from playoff contention the night before, it was the first game of Derek Jeter’s Yankee Stadium career without any meaning.
Jeter Acknowledges The Yankee Stadium Crowd.
Except, in the end, it really meant so much.
For Jeter, it was the final big moment of a career he would later deem to be “above and beyond anything I’d ever dreamt of.”
For me, it was a chance to be a kid again, one more time, when these types of Jeter moments happened with regularity.
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Jason Klein 