Derek Jeter will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sept. 8. The Post is counting down his 10 best moments leading into The Captain’s big day in Cooperstown.
7. Jeter’s dive into the stands against the Red Sox in 2004
It’s not quite “The Flip,” but “The Dive” is certainly a close second on the list of Jeter’s iconic defensive moments.
On July 1, 2004, the Yankees and Red Sox found themselves entangled in an extra-inning game in The Bronx. In the 12th inning, the Red Sox threatened to break a 3-3 tie. They had runners on second and third with two outs, and Trot Nixon coming to the plate.
Nixon looped a fly ball down the left-field line, sending Jeter, who had been positioned closer to second base, into a full-out sprint. Racing diagonally through the outfield grass, Jeter made a running catch to end the threat and retire the side. But, unable to slow his momentum, he launched himself head-first into the stands.
Out of a crowd of amazed fans, Jeter soon emerged, visibly shaken. His face was bruised and his chin lacerated. Seven stitches were soon in order.
But Jeter’s defensive heroics had gotten the Yankees out of trouble, sending them on their way to an eventual 13-inning victory.
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“He just has a sense, an instinct, for what he wants to do from the moment the ball is hit, and that’s not something you can teach,” Yankees manager Joe Torre marveled after the game. “You either can make that play or you don’t. And he’s made a ton of them in his day.”
Jeter didn’t get a chance to celebrate the 5-4 win with his teammates after John Flaherty’s walk-off base hit. The captain was at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital being tended to by a team of doctors. To no one’s surprise, when he left the stadium, Jeter informed his teammates that he intended to be in the lineup the next day.
Perhaps Flaherty summarized the moment best: “Sometimes, you can only shake your head and wonder at what that guy is capable of doing. It’s just amazing. It really, really is.”
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