Jeter chooses Mother’s Day to have No. 2 jersey retired
Former Yankees All-Star shortstop calls her his No. 1 fan.
Derek Jeter’s uniform number will be officially retired by the Yankees between games of today’s doubleheader.
A plaque honoring the shortstop who owns five World Series rings, multiple team records and an indelible place in Yankees history will join those of other single-digit players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle in Monument Park.
“How many No. 2s are worn by kids that respected what he did on the field and who he was with the New York Yankees?” said former teammate Paul O’Neill.
That the ceremony falls on Mother’s Day is not a coincidence. Jeter has said that he chose it to honor his No. 1 fan.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to do something special for my mom,” Jeter told Yankee Magazine of the timing and his relationship with Dorothy Jeter. “She’s been very important to me, always being positive and telling me from a young age that I could do anything I wanted to do as long as I worked hard at it. I thought it was a good day to not only acknowledge my entire family, but especially my mom.”
Dorothy Jeter, reached recently in Fort Myers, Fla., did not want to discuss the ceremony. “I like to keep everything personal,” she said.
But she is expected to be on hand tonight, along with Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and Jeter’s fellow Core Four members: Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte.
The big moment will come when Jeter speaks. Joe Torre, his former manager, believes Jeter will be at his extemporaneous best when he addresses the crowd. Jeter may have previewed his speech when he wrote this week on his Players’ Tribune: “Everyone comes to this city with dreams of being No. 1. You showed me that being No. 2 was more than enough.”
“Derek has something to say and he makes it easy to listen to and understand,” said Torre, who managed Jeter for 12 of the 20 years he played for the Yankees and whose No. 6 was retired in 2014.
“It’s going to be emotional,” continued Torre, now Major League Baseball’s chief baseball officer. “He may not show it but when you think about Monument Park and you think about the neighborhood that puts you in and the career he’s had. He’s certainly going to highlight what it meant to be a Yankee and the fans that he delighted for 20 years.”
Posada said recently from Coral Gables, Fla., “When you look back at his career you see a guy that wanted to be out there every day and wanted to win every day. He’s going to be very honored and very humbled.”