Jeter makes final appearance in Milwaukee, site of big '95 moment
MILWAUKEE -- Derek Jeter hasn't spent much time in Milwaukee over his illustrious 20-year career with the New York Yankees, but the future Hall of Famer recorded his first big hit in the major leagues at Milwaukee County Stadium.
As a 21-year-old September call-up in 1995, Jeter served as an emergency fill in and helped lift the Yankees to a crucial win as they chased a playoff berth.
Jeter's farewell tour, even though he prefers to call it his final season, hits Miller Park this weekend as the Yankees come to Milwaukee for just the sixth time in 19 seasons.
"I saw him for a long time," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, who spent 11 seasons coaching in the American League with the Los Angeles Angels. "He prepares himself well, plays it the right way. He's a great leader on their team."
Back in 1995, Jeter wasn't supposed to start on Sept. 26 against the Brewers. The Yankees were 1/2 game ahead of the California Angels for the wild card with five games to play and needed wins at Milwaukee County Stadium to move toward a playoff berth.
Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams had flown home to Puerto Rico to spend an off day with his wife and newborn daughter. According to stories written by reporters at the time, Williams was supposed to fly out at 10:05 a.m. EDT and arrive in Chicago where a team employee would drive him to Milwaukee.
Williams thought the flight was at 10:30 a.m. EDT and missed his plane. He eventually switched around his travel plans but didn't make it in time for first pitch.
Manager Buck Showalter rearranged his lineup so it would be easy for him to just insert Williams whenever he arrived. That meant Gerald Williams shifted from left field to center field, Randy Velarde went from shortstop to left and Jeter got just his fourth career start at shortstop.
Jeter spent May 29 through June 11 in the big leagues with the Yankees, hitting .234 in 47 at-bats. He was brought back up when rosters expanded in September, but hadn't had a plate appearance in nearly a month.
With two outs in the second inning and Gerald Williams on first base, Jeter doubled to right-center field off Brewers right-hander Scott Karl to put the Yankees up 1-0. Jeter's night didn't last long as Bernie Williams arrived and replaced him in the bottom of the third, but his run-scoring double proved to be a big blow in the Yankees' 5-4 victory.
In an article published this March, Newsday dug out a quote about the game from Jeter's autobiography "The Life You Imagine."
"I trotted out to shortstop for the third inning and I was probably puffing my chest out a little more than usual," Jeter wrote. "I had gotten a big hit in a crucial game in September, and I felt great. In fact, I felt more and more like I belonged."
Jeter didn't get another at-bat that season and was left off the postseason roster, but he became a fixture at shortstop for the Yankees the following year. As a rookie in 1996, Jeter hit .314 with 10 home runs and 78 RBI as the Yankees won the World Series.
Milwaukee County Stadium became one of Jeter's favorite places to hit, as he had a .383 batting average in 13 career games at the former home of the Brewers. Jeter hit .409 in Milwaukee in 1996 and .333 in 1997.
The Brewers then moved to the National League, meaning the Yankees were no longer going to make regular trips to Milwaukee.
Interleague play brought Jeter and the Yankees to Miller Park in June 2005, as the Brewers took two of three games in the series. Jeter had two hits off Brewers starter Doug Davis on June 6 and had one of the two hits allowed by Ben Sheets in Milwaukee's 2-1 win on June 7.
Jeter's only career home run in Milwaukee came on June 8, 2005, as he hit a solo home run off reliever Jorge De La Rosa in the sixth inning of New York's 12-3 victory.
The Brewers will honor Jeter in an on-field ceremony before Sunday afternoon's game. It's not known if they will present him with a special gift, something that has become tradition for teams to do when future Hall of Famers play in their city for the final time.
"I'm glad that I get to play against him in his final year," Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez said "I've never played in the American League before, but I've played interleague against him. He's one of the greatest players that I've ever played against.
"He's just a good all-around player, a great guy and a winner."
Jeter doesn't like the term "farewell tour" because he is focused on winning and getting the Yankees back to the World Series. He entered Wednesday's game in Anaheim hitting just .255 but went 2-for-5 with his first home run of the season in the series finale with the Angels.
"That's got to be hard, every city you go into something is done about you," Roenicke said. "I imagine this year is not going to be the most fun one for him."
There are plenty of other storylines with this weekend's series between the Brewers and Yankees. Japanese right-hander and budding star Masahiro Tanaka pitches for New York on Friday, while C.C. Sabathia gets the ball Saturday. It will be Sabathia's first start at Miller Park since his complete game on the last game of the 2008 season clinched Milwaukee's first playoff berth since 1982.
Then there's the buzz the Yankees bring to every ballpark they play in.
"I got a good taste of that jealousy on the other side," said Brewers first baseman Lyle Overbay, who played in 142 games for New York last season and played against Jeter many times as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2006-10 . "I remember that feel. But if we do the things we do, we can beat anybody. It's a matter of us taking care of business."
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