The champ is back!
Derek Jeter returned to Yankee Stadium on Saturday for the team’s Old Timers’ Day — and to celebrate their 1998 World Series win.
It was Jeter’s first time attending the team’s annual reunion-style event, which honors retired players, and he was welcomed back to his former home with raucous applause.
The team shared photos and videos from the event on Instagram, including a video where Jeter, 49, was introduced to the cheering crowd.
The former shortstop, who played with the Yankees for his entire 20-year MLB career, also shared photos from the day on his Instagram.
“Great to be back at Yankee Stadium to celebrate the 98 World Championship Team and Old Timers Day!” he captioned a photo that featured the line-up of the 1998 World Series team, which was celebrating the 25th anniversary of their win.
He also shared a photo with the team’s Core Four, a fan-favorite foursome that includes catcher Jorge Posada and pitchers Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. “My brothers,” Jeter captioned the photo, which he shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Reflecting on his first time attending the event, Jeter joked, “I’m working on rebranding the name Old-Timers’ to something else,” AP reported.
“When you’re playing, when you’re on the bench and you’re watching the game, and you could never see yourself being introduced at Old-Timers’, because you don’t ever think you’re going to get old, which — we are not old, right? We’re not old,” he said, per the outlet.
While he may have some issues with the event’s title, the five-time World Series winner was still in awe of the love he felt.
“But, man, it’s a special feeling,” he said, per AP. “The fans, what makes this organization great is the respect that they have for the history.”
Jeter also shared some advice with the current team, who, with a record of 70-72 after Saturday’s loss against the Milwaukee Brewers, is in danger of their first losing season since 1992.
“Have fun,” he advised, according to New York Daily News. “What I’ve told young players, even during my career when they come up, is it’s the same game. There’s just more people in the stands. I think sometimes you get up to this level, you try to do things a little bit differently. But you have to be yourself. Don’t try to do something that you’re not accustomed to. But you have to enjoy yourself and try to improve each and every day.”
He added, “Bottom line here is you gotta win, so that’s the thing you should be focused on.”
Jeter also shared a sweet moment with Willy Adames, a shortstop on the Milwaukee Brewers, prior to Saturday’s game. In a video shared by Fox Sports, Adames rushed to greet the Hall of Famer and was giddy as he ran back to his team’s dugout.
“Great to meet you my brother,” Jeter wrote on Twitter as he reposted the video shared by Fox Sports.
Since his retirement in 2017, Jeter has served as the CEO of the Miami Marlins before stepping down in 2022. He has since joined Fox’s baseball coverage team.