Derek Jeter played in his final game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night, delivering a walk-off base hit in the ninth inning to lift his team over the Baltimore Orioles. The captain’s last Yankees home game will also be his last at shortstop.
Jeter told reporters after the game that he wanted his last game at shortstop to be in front of nearly 50,000 Yankee fans.
“I’ve played my last game at shortstop,” he said, via Chad Jennings of USA Today Sports. “I wanted to take something special from Yankee Stadium and the view from shortstop here, tonight, is what I want to take from it. … I’ve only played shortstop for my entire career. And the last time I want to play it is tonight.”
Jeter will be the DH when the Yankees travel to Boston this weekend for the final series of his MLB career. He started 2,660 regular season games at shortstop for New York and never played another position during his professional career, despite the fact that his range rapidly worsened in recent seasons.
The reception Jeter gets at Fenway Park this weekend should be just as loud as the one he got at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night.
