Derek Jeter's presence will make Old-Timers' Day even more special Saturday
Derek Jeter hits a double in the fifth inning of the Yankees' home opener against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium on April 7, 2014. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
Derek Jeter may not seem old to legions of baseball fans, but on Saturday, the 49-year-old Hall of Famer will get the elder statesman treatment at Yankee Stadium.
Jeter will make his first appearance at Old-Timers’ Day, which starts at noon. He hasn’t done it since his retirement after the 2014 season, and his return adds more star power to one of the Yankees’ time-honored traditions.
“That’s a big deal. Derek Jeter,” manager Aaron Boone said before Friday night's game. “It’s pretty cool. I got to see him a couple of times this year, so it’ll be nice to have him here tomorrow. I know, obviously, the fan base is going to be pretty juiced about it and, frankly, all our players.”
Jeter made a surprise appearance at the Stadium last month during the Hip Hop 50 Live festival. He received a rousing ovation from the crowd and made a brief speech celebrating this year being recognized as the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
He appeared at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 9 last year for a ceremony honoring his Hall of Fame induction and told the fans that they could expect to see him more often.
“I know you guys haven’t seen a lot of me over the last few years, for various reasons,” Jeter said at the time, referring to his time as the Marlins’ CEO, “but I really truly do look forward to hopefully seeing a lot more of you here in the near future.”
Exactly 365 days later, Jeter will honor that announcement.
Old-Timers’ Day, which won’t feature a game but a question-and-answer roundtable format, will acknowledge the 25th anniversary of the 1998 championship team, which included Jeter. The team won 114 regular-season games and went 11-2 in the postseason to start a streak of three consecutive World Series titles.
For Boone, who played with Jeter in 2003, it won’t just be special for the fans and his players. It’ll be special for other teammates and older Yankees to see him and share the love for one of the franchise’s greatest players.
“I know how meaningful it is to all the alumni and all the former Yankee players that come, that have this day circled on their calendar,” Boone said. “So it’ll be cool for them to get to see Derek and I think it’s something every Yankee out there is looking forward to.”
Injured Severino exits
Luis Severino exited a 2-2 game in the fifth inning Friday after giving up a leadoff single to Brice Turang. As the ball rocketed to left-centerfield, Severino doubled over, and after grimacing for a few moments, he walked off the field in obvious pain as Jhony Brito came on in relief.
The Yankees said Severino suffered a left side injury and will undergo diagnostic testing on Saturday.
Severino struck out five but allowed a tying two-run homer by Willy Adames after Jasson Dominguez’s two-run shot had given the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
Abreu to injured list
Reliever Albert Abreu was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with a strained right hamstring. He pitched two innings in Thursday’s loss to the Tigers, striking out three and allowing a two-run homer in the eighth inning in his first appearance since Aug. 31. Boone said Abreu noted the injury has lingered “on and off” all season.
“It just felt like after last night, feels like he’s in a tough spot to go out there and do that,” Boone said. "So we’ll see where we’re at here over the next couple of weeks.”
Abreu is 2-2 with a 4.73 ERA and 61 strikeouts and has established career highs in appearances (45) and innings pitched (59).
Said Boone, “[We] want to make sure we get this thing right and put him in the best spot to compete at the level that he knows he needs to.”
The Yankees called up lefthanded reliever Nick Ramirez from Triple-A to fill Abreu’s spot.
Judge Clemente Award nominee
Aaron Judge was named the Yankees’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. The award recognizes the player who best represents the sport through “extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions.”
The last Yankee to win the award was Jeter in 2009. Last season’s winner was Justin Turner, who won with the Dodgers and is now with the Red Sox.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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