Derek Jeter insists he will never be seen playing in an Old Timers’ Day game, but also rejects suggestions that he is the reason the Yankees ended the long-standing tradition.
“You’re not going to see me bat again. No, I’d be afraid of getting hurt,” Jeter said when asked what influence he had on there being no more games at the annual event, including the two years he participated. “But that doesn’t mean the reason there is no game is because I’m not playing.”
“I don’t make those decisions, contrary to what you think. 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 appearance at the stadium on Old-Timers’ Day last year.
The Yankees suspended play for the first time in the pandemic year of 2020 and have continued with a question-and-answer session instead in recent years.
A slimmed-down CC Sabathia donned his No. 52 pinstripe jersey as the 2009 World Series team was honored on Saturday, but the former Yankees star expressed disappointment that a game will no longer take place.
The 44-year-old retired hurling player said he would have played “definitely”.
“My cutter is ready. So, he’s ready for these guys,” Sabathia joked. “I play catch, I have a 14-year-old, and he throws, so I play catch with him and throw him BP as best I can.”
“I told them I wanted to play. We’ll see (what the future holds), but I think it would be fun to get these guys running around out there again, even if it’s a softball game.”
Jorge Posada agreed with Jeter, his Core 4 teammate, and decided against Sabathia, who joined them for their fifth championship in 2009.
“No, no, no. NO,” Posada said emphatically when asked if he wished they were still playing. “I’m 54. I get up and wonder what I did wrong just laying there. CC is a lot younger… And he’s in better shape than he was when he was playing. I’m pretty sure he can still do it, but it’s tough, man.”
“We laugh about it, but it’s tough. I haven’t picked up a bat yet. I played softball the other day and it was ugly. So I don’t think it’s going to come to that. So I think it’s the right decision and we can enjoy it instead of having the pressure to hit the ball again.”
David Cone, who allowed an OTD home run to Hideki Matsui in the 2016 game, also voted to revive the game in the future. Mariano Rivera also hit an inside-the-park home run in 2019.
“I’d welcome it,” Cone said. “I’m the last person to allow a home run, to Matsui a few years before COVID. It was fun. Tino (Martinez) took me a long way, too. We always had fun with it, the last few years they have.”
“There’s been a lot of rumors about why they’re not doing it, but I know it’s always difficult to get enough people healthy enough to get out of there… People are getting lawyers, but I could throw one in there to make Jorge go far, absolutely. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have another one at some point.”
