Yankees to honor Derek Jeter with Hall of Fame tribute night
This replica Derek Jeter Hall of Fame plaque will be given out to the first 40,000 fans at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 9, 2022. Credit: New York Yankees
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Derek Jeter is set to return to Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees announced on Thursday that the Hall of Fame shortstop, who retired after the 2014 season, will throw out the first pitch before the Yankees’ Sept. 9 game against the Rays as a part of Derek Jeter Hall of Fame Induction Tribute Night.
According to the Yankees, the first 40,000 fans will receive a replica Jeter Hall of Fame plaque.
Jeter’s own Cooperstown plaque will be displayed inside the Yankees museum at the Stadium during the game for fans to see.
Jeter, who in 2020 fell one vote shy of becoming the second player unanimously voted into the Hall — Mariano Rivera, who retired after the 2013 season, became the first the year before — has made few appearances at the Stadium since his retirement.
Among the most memorable occurred in August 2017 when his No. 2 jersey number was retired by the Yankees.
Jeter, who won World Series titles with the Yankees in 1996, 1998-2000 and 2009 — the most recent championship won by the club — retired as the franchise leader in hits (3,465), games played (2,747), doubles (544), stolen bases (358) and at-bats (11,195). He ranks sixth on the MLB hit list.
Jeter, who as a player often discussed his post-career goals of owning a team and calling the shots for a franchise, received that responsibility to a degree in 2017 when he joined the Marlins as part of Bruce Sherman’s ownership group that purchased the team from Jeffrey Loria for $1.2 billion. Jeter was installed as CEO, a position he resigned from Feb. 28 in a dispute, according to multiple sources, about Sherman's promises of an increased payroll that were not kept. There are no indications that Jeter will be rejoining the Yankees, the only club he ever played for, in any capacity anytime soon, or if he would even want to do that.
