No one is more familiar with the pressures of New York in the postseason than Derek Jeter. The former Yankee captain won five championships with the New York Yankees en route to becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the franchise's all-time hits leader and one of the most beloved players in team history.
So he was able to handle the pressure of throwing out the first pitch at the first World Series game at Yankee Stadium since his playing days. Jeter confidently strode out from the Yankees dugout prior to Game 3 between the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, took his spot at the top of the mound, and fired a strike to home plate.
He didn't bounce it 🫡
Derek Jeter throws the first pitch ahead of #WorldSeries Game 3! pic.twitter.com/Ae8dPXQbv6
— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2024
The above post from MLB is a nod to Jeter telling then-President George W. Bush not to bounce his first pitch in 2001.
“They'll boo you,” Jeter told him.
For a fanbase that hasn't seen their team in the Fall Classic in 15 years (an eternity, for Yankees fans), the moment had everything. Even former Yankees PA announcer, Bob Sheppard, introducing Jeter.
The fans, of course, loved it. The stadium gave him a deafening ovation, while fans at home weighed in via X.
Article Continues Below“If the #Yankees lose tonight it's Fat Joe's fault,” ESPN New York's Jake Asman wrote after Fat Joe followed Jeter's pitch with a quick performance of his own. “Ruined all the crowd energy from the Derek Jeter first pitch.”
Meanwhile some fans said what every Yankees fan who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s was thinking.
“Derek Jeter throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before a World Series game is officially the oldest I’ve ever felt,” he said.
“The baseball sap in me loves that they still used Bob Sheppard’s voice over the PA to introduce Derek Jeter prior to his first pitch,” another added. “The newly-minted 40-year-old me hate that I’ve reached Jeter being the old guy doing a ceremonial first pitch years old. Make time stop.”
While Jeter, who is also part of the Fox broadcast team, was on the field throwing out the first pitch, the pregame show carried on without him. His ex-teammate Alex Rodriguez, who won a ring in New York in 2009 but had as polarizing a career as any Yankee ever, gave perhaps the best line of the show.
“I'm throwing Game 8,” he said.