The Derek Jeter farewell tour kicked off last night as the Astros presented their “gift” to Jeter before the game and during his first at-bat. The gift included a visit from former teammates Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens.
Jeter was greeted by former teammates Pettitte, Clemens and Mike Stanton as the scoreboard showed a tribute to Jeter’s career highlights that ended in a standing ovation. In a perfect replica of Mariano Rivera’s farewell last year, Jeter received some extravagant gifts as a goodbye and good riddance from teams he has beaten multiple times over his 20-year career.
A closer look at Jeter's gifts. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/R5EDIW0l5w
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) April 3, 2014
The gift given by the Astros were a pair of Yankee pinstripe no. 2 cowboy boots that no one would ever wear in public as well as a white cowboy hat. The Astros also presented Jeter with a new set of golf clubs for when Jeter hits the links after 2014. Of his former Yankee teammates, Pettitte in particular still doesn’t believe this is the end of the line for Jeter.
“I think my kids probably texted me and said, 'Hey, Derek's retiring.' I immediately sent him a text, 'Thanks for the heads up,'" said Pettitte. "He's like, 'Dude, you knew. We've been talking about it for the last year.' I'm like, 'I knew we've been talking about it, but I didn't think you were really going to do it.’"
This is the first of many stops for the Yankee captain as he starts his final season before riding off into the sunset and right into the Hall of Fame. The Yankees lost the game 3-1 to drop to 0-2 on the season, Jeter went 0-3 with a walk and strikeout. This is just the beginning of what promises to be a season to remember if you are a baseball fan.
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