Like many others who grew up in New York in the 1990s, New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey idolized Derek Jeter throughout his childhood. On Thursday night, Harvey joined roughly 50,000 others at Yankee Stadium to say goodbye to No. 2.
“Tonight is about #RE2PECT!!” Harvey wrote on Instagram along with the photo you see above. “Saying farewell and paying the man this game has been blessed to have! A childhood idol and it’s now an honor to call a friend!!! #derekjeter.”
Meanwhile, the Mets were finishing up the second leg of a double header against the Washington Nationals. Harvey has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery this season and has not traveled with the team, for the most part. Newsday’s Marc Carig asked Mets manager Terry Collins if he had an issue with the 25-year-old attending Jeter’s last game, to which he responded “not really.” When asked the same question, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said “no comment.”
Naturally, Jeter’s Yankee Stadium career had a storybook ending. After the Baltimore Orioles scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game, Jeter delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the frame.
