Derek Jeter Hits Walk-Off Single in Final Game at Yankee Stadium

Derek Jeter could not have written a better script for his final home game at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 25. 

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The retiring New York Yankees shortstop and team captain hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead his team to a 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch:

“There was so much discussion about how to best script the perfect moment, the ideal way for Derek Jeter to bid farewell to the Bronx in the only pinstriped uniform he ever wanted to wear. And in the end, the only way to properly handle someone who fought so hard never to come out of the lineup was to just let him play the game. 

“Manager Joe Girardi never moved from his spot in the dugout during the top of the ninth inning. It was Jeter’s game to play, and it was his game to end, slashing a walk-off single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning that lifted the Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Orioles on Thursday at Yankee Stadium. 

“Following Jeter’s hit off Evan Meek, he was mobbed by his teammates between first and second base as Jose Pirela raced home, then was greeted on the field by familiar faces of his Yankees past: former manager Joe Torre, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and good friend Gerald Williams. 

“Jeter walked to his shortstop position, crouched and then doffed his batting helmet countless times in the air as the sellout crowd of 48,163 again serenaded him with chants of his name. Asked what was going through his mind stepping in for the final at-bat, Jeter replied, ‘Don’t cry.’ 

“‘More importantly, I’m going to miss the fans,’ Jeter said. 

“The Yankees held a three-run lead heading into the ninth inning, with Jeter trying to choke back his emotions. Long home runs by Adam Jones and Steve Pearce off David Robertson shredded that ending, forcing the Yankees to scramble for a new way to complete Jeter’s home story. 

“The weather never proved to be an issue on a crisp and surprisingly clear evening, accompanying this final opportunity to salute the outgoing captain. It felt and sounded like October in the Bronx, and not surprisingly, that was an atmosphere in which Jeter seemed right at home.”

The #walkoff hit. Frozen in time. #FarewellCaptain pic.twitter.com/aPu0CXQPP5

— MLB (@MLB) September 26, 2014

According to The New York Times’ Alan Feuer, the average ticket price for Jeter’s last home game was $830 — the most expensive ever for an MLB regular-season game:

“It is no secret that Jeter mania has been kindling in New York in the last few weeks, as has been endlessly acclaimed as an incomparable shortstop in an elaborate farewell tour. 

“Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that the tallest building in Albany would be lit up during Jeter’s last home game with a projection of his famous No. 2 Mayor Bill de Blasio, by official proclamation this month, declared Sept. 7 ‘Derek Jeter Day,’ a happening that was celebrated here on Earth by a host of Yankee heroes — and in space, where three astronauts aboard the International Space Station tipped their hats to him.

“Tickets to the game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night, fattened by the secondary market, where the average ticket price was $830 each, were said to be the most expensive ever sold for a regular-season game in baseball history. And it was not just in New York that the ‘Jeter effect’ had taken hold. From Baltimore to Kansas City, ticket prices soared.”

The game was not only Jeter’s last-ever at Yankee Stadium, it was most likely his last game as a shorstop. Jeter told ESPN’s Wallace Matthews on Thursday he probably would suit up as a designated hitter for the upcoming three-game series against the Boston Red Sox. 

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