4 Legendary Derek Jeter Playoff Moments Described by The Captain Himself

Over the course of his 20-year career, Derek Jeter played in an MLB record 158 postseason games and won five World Series titles. 

The 158 games are basically the equivalent of a full season, and in those games, Jeter batted .308 with 111 runs scored, 200 hits, 32 doubles, 20 homers, 61 RBI and 66 walks.

With all those games and five titles, the Hall of Famer had a number of “legendary” moments.

The BetMGM brand ambassador visited the Jersey City office recently and took a few minutes to discuss four of them.

1996 – Game 1 ALCS, Yankees vs. Orioles

The Yankees trailed the Orioles 4-3 in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the American League Championship Series in Jeter’s rookie season.

The rookie stepped to the plate and hit a deep fly ball to right field. Right fielder Tony Tarasco moved near the fence and was ready to make a catch when a young fan reached over the fence and attempted to catch the ball with his glove. The fan, later identified as 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier, failed to make the catch, but he knocked the ball over the fence in his attempt, resulting in a home run for Jeter.

Tarasco and Baltimore manager Davey Johnson erupted at the right field line umpire to no avail, with Johnson being ejected. 

New York went on to win the game in extra innings.

“It was a home run,” Jeter said. “He should have jumped. I played with Tony, and I told him the same thing. It wasn’t a time when replays were shown on the scoreboard, so I thought it was a home run. It was just one of those moments at Yankee Stadium.”

Jeter never shied away from the big stage, even as a rookie.

“I didn’t shy away from the moments,” he said. “I enjoyed being in those moments. It’s more of you just can’t be afraid to fail. Playing in New York, you have a lot of moments; there are a lot of expectations. I enjoyed those moments.”

2000 – Subway Series vs. Mets

The Yankees beat the Mets in five games in a series where Jeter was named MVP. The shortstop hit .409 with two home runs. 

When discussing it now, Jeter recalls how the Yankees could not have lost the series.

“We had to beat the Mets,” he said. “I mean, literally, we joked about it, but I lived in the city my entire career. I would have moved out if we had lost to the Mets. That is all everyone talked about. The city was on the line; you have to win. I don’t think Yankee fans cared what we did in the past; we had to beat the Mets. That was a fun series to be part of.”

The Mets won Game 3, but Jeter led off Game 4 with a home run, immediately shifting things back to the Yankees.

“I think it was big because the Mets fans were getting into it,” Jeter said. “They hadn’t really beaten us. We had won like 12 or something games in a row in the World Series. It was a big moment to turn the momentum back in our favor.”

2001 – Game 3 ALDS, vs. Athletics

The Yankees were leading the A’s 1-0 in the seventh inning with a runner on first base (Jeremy Giambi) and Terrance Long at the plate.

Long ripped a double down the right field line off Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, where right fielder Shane Spencer fielded and threw the ball toward home plate, hoping to prevent Giambi from scoring.

But instead of hitting two cutoff men, Spencer’s throw landed in no-man’s-land between first base and home plate as Giambi neared home.

Jeter sprinted from his shortstop position to the bouncing ball, grabbed it, and immediately flipped it like a shovel pass in football to catcher Jorge Posada, who was able to swipe a tag on Giambi’s leg just before he crossed home plate.

Giambi was out, and the play helped the Yankees win three straight over the A’s and advance to the ALCS after going down 0-2. 

Jeter noted he was in the right position.

“I knew that Jeremy Giambi wasn’t that fast, so I knew I had a chance to get him,” he said. “I was where I was supposed to be to redirect the throw to third base and try and get the runner, but I knew we had a chance to get [Giambi], so I got rid of it as fast as I could.”

2001 – World Series, Yankees vs. Diamondbacks 

Jeter earned the nickname Mr. November in this series as he hit a walk-off home run in Game 4, which began on Halloween, but concluded with Jeter’s homer after midnight with the calendar flipping to Nov. 1. 

The home run tied the series at two games apiece, but the Yankees ultimately fell in seven games.

The series was about more than baseball, as it was just a few weeks after 9/11, and it was able to give New York City something positive in a dark time.

“There was a different feel,” Jeter said. “I think it was what New York needed at the time – something to cheer for and celebrate. Three games, especially the last two, were the loudest games I ever played at the old Yankee Stadium. Very meaningful to New York City at the time.”

Jeter added: “I still look back at it upset we lost, but at the time, people were never going to forget what happened, obviously, but it gave them something to cheer for, for at least 3 and a half hours a day. We took that responsibility seriously, and we understood it while we were in the moment.”