Farewell, Captain: Jeter singles in final at-bat of career
By Maureen Mullen / USA Today
PHOTO: Derek Jeter waves to the crowd after being replaced by a pinch runner in the third inning at Fenway Park.
BOSTON - With his teammates lining the top step of the dugout and standing on dugout benches to get a good view, Derek Jeter chopped an infield single to third baseman Garin Cecchini on the fourth pitch of his second at-bat Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.
And with a simple gesture, his 20-year career came to a close.
With Jeter on first base, manager Joe Girardi looked over for a sign. Jeter, following the plan Girardi laid out before the game, gave the signal. Brian McCann trotted out from the Yankees dugout to pinch-run, bringing to an end Jeter's 20-year major league career.
On his way off the field, Jeter gave first base coach Mick Kelleher a pat on the shoulder, had a word for first baseman Allen Craig, embraced McCann, waved to the Sox dugout, and stopped at the mound to shake hands with Buchholz. As he reached the dugout, he tipped his cap and waved to the Fenway crowd, exchanged hugged with his teammates. And then he was gone.
As was an era.
Jeter's RBI single - it will only resemble a line drive in the box score - was the 3,465th hit of his career, and managed to bump his lifetime average from .309 to .310.
He'll finish his final season batting .256 with 50 RBI and a .304 on-base percentage, numbers far off his career norms, and suggest the difficulty of playing shortstop in the major leagues at 40 years old.
But in his final act, Jeter managed one last bit of production amid the pomp.
Earlier, in a ceremony that was equal parts fun, emotional, and respectful, the Red Sox paid tribute to Jeter about a half hour before first pitch.
As fans awaited the start of the ceremony, scoreboard workers inside the ancient ballpark's Green Monster inserted letters into the scoreboard. Each time a character was inserted, one by one, into a scoreboard slot from behind the scenes, the Fenway crowd let out a cheer. The finished product read "WITH RESPECT 2 DEREK JETER."
Jeter then emerged from the Yankees third base dugout to a huge ovation. As he trotted out to shortstop he tipped his cap and waved to the crowd.
One by one, Sox legends emerged from the home team's first base dugout to meet Jeter on the field and pay their respects: Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice, Fred Lynn – who mentioned on Saturday afternoon he had never seen so many Yankees jerseys at Fenway before – Rico Petrocelli, Luis Tiant, Tim Wakefield, and Jason Varitek.
Hockey Hall of Famer and Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr emerged after that to an ovation that could rival one for Jeter. The Celtics Paul Pierce and Patriots Troy Brown followed.
Jeter saved his warmest reception for Sox third base coach Brian Butterfield, who was a coach in the Yankees organization when Jeter was a first-round (sixth overall) pick in 1992. The two worked tirelessly on Jeter's fielding, and Jeter has often credited Butterfield with turning him into a future Hall of Fame shortstop.
Butterfield acknowledged on Friday it would probably be an emotional weekend for him. The pair exchanged an embrace at shortstop.
After that, the entire Red Sox team emerged in a line from the dugout to meet Jeter at shortstop, each one stopping to exchange a handshake or a hug. Dustin Pedroia was last in the line. The Sox second baseman presented Jeter with a base with the number '2' on it.
All eyes then turned to Fenway's video board above center field, where Jeter was shown taking the ice bucket challenge, this summer's international phenomenon that began in Boston as a fundraiser for ALS research. Peter Frates, the former Boston College baseball captain who is stricken with ALS and the man behind that fundraiser, entered the field from the third base side. Frates, who is in a wheelchair, went out to greet Jeter at shortstop. But, the Yankees captain trotted over to meet the former BC captain on the infield grass. After the two exchanged a greeting and a few words, they went together to join what was becoming a crowd lining the outfield grass on the left field side.
Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts and designated hitter David Ortiz – at 21 and 38, the youngest and oldest players on the Sox roster, respectively – held a large sign that read 'RE2PECT.' They presented a check for $22,222.22 to Jeter for his foundation from the Red Sox.
Bogaerts, who wears No. 2 in honor of his idol, was not in the Sox starting lineup on Sunday. A hamstring ailment sidelined him. Manager John Farrell said before the game Bogaerts was taking it very hard that he would not be on the field for his idol's last game. Instead, he presented Jeter with a No. 2 from Fenway's scoreboard.
In a light-hearted segment, the Sox brought out Michelle Brooks Thompson, a Massachusetts native and competitor on 'The Voice,' to serenade Jeter with 'Respect,' the Aretha Franklin classic anthem. While Jeter did not join in the singing, he did go over to thank Thompson.
The ceremony ended with the National Anthem, sung by Brooks, both teams lined on the base paths, and the Boston legends on the outfield grass behind shortstop. A color guard in center field included members of the Fire Department of New York.
A few minutes later, Jeter stepped into the batter's box for the first at-bat of his final game. Before settling in, he tapped Sox catcher David Ross on the shinguard with his bat, as is Jeter's custom. Ross, the Sox back-up, has been catching primarily for right-hander Joe Kelly. But, with Kelly pitching yesterday, Ross, a veteran of 16 major league seasons, requested to catch Sunday. He wanted to be on the field for Jeter's final game.
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