Derek Jeter addresses if he’s why Yankees retired Old-Timers’ Day game, if he’d ever play
Derek Jeter insists you’ll never see him play in an Old-Timers’ Day game, but he also pushed back at a suggestion that he’s the reason the Yankees discontinued the longstanding tradition.
“They’re not gonna see me hit again. No, I would be afraid I would hurt myself,” Jeter said when asked about his influence on there no longer being a game at the annual event, including both years he’s participated. “But that’s not saying the reason there’s no game is because I’m not playing.
“I don’t make those decisions, contrary to your belief. I don’t make those decisions when it comes to whether there’s a game or not. So why are you asking me? You can direct [that question] to Hal [Steinbrenner].
After leaving his front office and ownership position with the Marlins, Jeter made his first Old-Timers’ Day appearance at the Stadium last year.
The Yankees first stopped playing the game in the 2020 pandemic year and they’ve continued with a Q&A session in its place the past few years.
A slimmed-down CC Sabathia donned his No. 52 pinstriped jersey as the 2009 World Series team was honored on Saturday, but the Yankees’ former ace noted his disappointment that there no longer is a game played.
The 44-year-old retired hurler said he “absolutely” would have played in it.
“My cutter is ready. Well, it’s ready for these guys,” Sabathia joked. “I play catch, I have a 14-year-old, and he pitches, so I play catch with him and throw him BP, as good as I can.
“I told them I wanted to play the game. We’ll see [for the future], but I think it would be fun to get these guys back out there moving around, even if it’s a softball game.”
Jorge Posada agreed with Jeter, his Core 4 teammate, over Sabathia, who joined them for the fifth championship in 2009.
“No, no, no. NO,” Posada said emphatically when asked if he’d wished they still played the game. “I’m 54. I get out of bed and I wonder what I did wrong just laying down. CC’s a lot younger….And he’s in better shape than when he was playing. I’m pretty sure he can still do it, but it’s hard, man.
“We laugh about it, but it’s hard. I haven’t picked up a bat. I played softball the other day and it was ugly. So I don’t see it happening. So I think it’s the right decision and we can enjoy ourselves instead of having the pressure of trying to hit the ball again.”
David Cone, who yielded an OTD home run to Hideki Matsui in the 2016 game, also was a “yes” vote on resurrecting the game in the future. Mariano Rivera also legged out an inside-the-park homer in 2019.
“I would welcome it,” Cone said. “I’m the last guy to give up a home run, to Matsui a couple of years pre-COVID. It was fun. Tino [Martinez] took me deep, too. We always had fun with it, the last couple of years they did it.
“There’s been a lot of rumors why they don’t do it, but I know it’s always difficult just to get enough guys healthy enough to get out there…People get lawyered up, but I could lob one in there for Jorge to go deep, absolutely. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have another one at some point.”
