Derek Jeter was not always a patient hitter during his Major League career, as he used to swing at the first pitcher of the opposing pitcher. But for a year and a half, the former Yankees captain has no choice but to arm himself with patience as far as his big day in Cooperstown is concerned.
More than 19 months after being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame almost unanimously – he received 396 of the 397 votes cast, the second highest percentage (99.7%) in history behind his former teammate. team, Panamanian Mariano Rivera (100%) – and more than 13 months after his exaltation ceremony was postponed by a global pandemic – Jeter will finally have his big moment next Wednesday.
Given the long wait and the constant change in the news about the pandemic, Jeter is making a great effort to keep his emotions until he is stopped on the podium.
“I don’t want to hurt his eye,” Jeter said. “It’s already postponed, so I hope it happens next week. So many things happened in the world during this first year or so that I didn’t think much about it. At first, I was excited and then it was canceled. home and the mind is focused on other things. I’m looking forward to getting there next week, hopefully. I play wood. It’s been a long time waiting. “
Two years ago, Jeter witnessed Rivera’s exaltation, making the trip to Cooperstown for the first time since his childhood. This gave him a taste of what awaits him, although the perspective from the stage will be different from what he had as being part of the audience.
However, in the case of Jeter, it should come as no surprise to us that he is not thinking much about what will bring him that day.
“Strange as it sounds, I’m trying not to think, because I just want to go and experience it for the first time,” Jeter said. “Obviously, I look forward to coming, going to the museum, meeting all the Hall of Fame and sharing a little bit with them. Ceremony and speech are the things I try not to mind, because I want to to arrive without preconceived notions of how things are going to happen. I want to live it and try to enjoy it. “
Jeter’s consistency on the field and his heroic moments were what brought him to the Hall of Fame, but any list of his great moments in the Majors should include his speech after the last game in the former Yankee Stadium in September 2008. no one was surprised when the face of the franchise grabbed the microphone and addressed the audience, but his words – the ones he found without the help of a speech writing – they were the perfect ending to this memorable night.
With less than a week to go before he is exalted, Jeter is trying to polish his speech, even though he is doing so privately, as he does not want anyone to see or hear him before he gives it.
“As far as addressing the audience is concerned, it’s something I’ve done on previous occasions, but that will obviously be a little longer,” Jeter noted. “We’re talking about a 10- or 15-minute speech. It’s hard to cover your entire career in such a short period of time, but I’m working on that.”