On Monday, the New York Yankees announced that they will be bringing back their traditional baseball game coined the Old-Timers’ Day in August, which will honor the 2000 World Series champions. But perhaps the most important player on that 2000 roster, Derek Jeter, will not be in attendance for the game, which WFAN host Boomer Esiason took exception to on Tuesday.
This perhaps isn’t all that much of a surprise considering Jeter has been quite open about having no desire to hit again at Yankee Stadium. Jeter attended the event each of the last two seasons, but did not compete, instead answering some fan questions in a Q&A from the stadium.
One of those fan questions at last year’s Old-Timers’ Day was about whether he would eventually play in the game. He responded to this question by telling Yankee fans that they would “never see him hit again”.
Jeter’s absence was discussed on Tuesday’s edition of the Gio & Boomer Show on WFAN, hosted by Gregg Giannotti and Boomer Esiason. And while both believed that Jeter should be competing in the event, Esiason seems to believe that Jeter’s decision not to compete says a lot about his character.
“He has always been a little bit different,” said Esiason of Jeter. “You know that. This is almost…. I don’t know, to me, it’s a little bit insulting, I think. I mean, come on, you are one of the great players in the team’s history. The fans adore you, they love you every time. This is why you have gone on to be a very good spokesperson. A very good steward of the game. Somebody who understands the history. Especially the history of this franchise.
“Personally, I think he should be there and he should be a part of it. I’m not saying do it every year. But at least when they are celebrating one of your teams. To me, it’s a moot point. He could still hit if he had to. I don’t know, I don’t want to put myself in his shoes. But it seems, like, elitist, that’s all.”
Giannotti wasn’t as critical of Jeter’s decision not to play in the game, but did think that Jeter could at the very least attend the event dedicated to his 2000 Yankees team.
“Derek Jeter’s not gonna embarrass himself,” said Giannotti. “I think he would put the uniform back on and look just like Derek Jeter when we last saw him. He’s in great shape, some of these other guys showing up are not. He is.”
Jeter is essentially the only high-profile player from the 2000 World Series team that won’t be playing in the event, as the likes of Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Roger Clemens, David Justice, Alfonso Soriano and Jose Vizcaino among others have already confirmed to be participating in the game.