It felt as if the stars had aligned. Derek Jeter’s last game at Tropicana Field was taking place on my 22nd birthday, Sept. 17. As a die-hard Yankee fan and a guy who had run into the Captain a couple of times over the past few years, I felt like it was an obligation to attend this historic event. So after class, I met up with The Minaret’s Multimedia Director, the amazing Doha Madani, and off we went to the Trop to watch our favorite team, the Yankees, take on the hometown Rays.
After almost an hour and a half of monotonous traffic going over the Howard Frankland and into St. Petersburg, we finally arrived at the Trop, even if it was a little late. The parking lot was packed like a can of sardines, and scores of people rushed to the gates in order to get to their seats as quickly as possible. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Doha and I were finally inside, and we rushed to our seats.The usher took a look at our tickets, and showed us to our seats. Second row, right field, smack dab in the middle of Yankee outfielders Ichiro Suzuki and Brett Gardner. It was the bottom of the first inning, so we missed Jeter’s first at bat. We would be able to catch at least two more, though.
We were surrounded by Yankee fans, which is the greatest thing for any Yankee fan. Jeter jerseys and navy blue Yankee caps were all around us. As I took a look around, it seemed like the stadium had been invaded by New Yorkers. The chants of “Let’s Go Yankees” and “Derek Jeter” filled the air. It was almost as if the Rays were the visitors, because the Yankees certainly looked at home in the Trop. The second and third innings passed without incident, and Doha tapped me on the shoulder at the beginning of the fourth. “I owe you a birthday beer, and I want one too,” she said, getting up from her seat.
I didn’t need any more encouragement, so we walked down a flight of stairs onto the concourse, where a number of kiosks served food and beverages. Doha went to grab our beers and a foot long Rays dog, while I went to get my favorite thing in the whole stadium: barbeque pulled pork nachos. Salty tortilla chips, melted and gooey nacho cheese, and succulent pulled pork topped with sweet and tangy Carolina barbeque sauce. As I sat down, Doha called to me. “Bud or Bud Light?” she asked.
I looked up her, my brow furrowed in mock surprise. “Is that even a question?” I asked with a grin. She laughed and told the attendant that she wanted two Budweisers. We then chowed down on the calorie-heavy meals while Jeter came up for a second time. We watched on the surrounding flatscreens as he grounded out a couple of pitches into his at bat. After finishing our meals and beers, we went to the the Coors Light kiosk and ordered two more beers before heading back to our seats.
As we sat down, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria came up to bat. Brandon McCarthy, the Yankees pitcher, had been pitching strong up to that point. Longoria changed that by smacking one of McCarthy’s fastballs into straight away centerfield. Gardner gave chase, but couldn’t snag the ball over the wall. The Rays led 1-0.
Yet other than that solo shot and another RBI from Longoria via a groundout in the sixth, McCarthy shut down the Rays’ bats, allowing only another three hits. The support of the home crowd helped, as finished off his night with an immaculate inning, striking out the last three Rays he pitched on the minimum nine pitches.
As the game moved along, the Yankees’ bats came alive against Rays starter Alex Cobb in the fifth inning. Cobb hit Yankee left fielder Chris Young (who was the sixth Yankee to be hit by pitch in six straight games against the Rays), then allowed a RBI double to trade deadline acquisition Chase Headley to tie the game. The Bombers then took the lead on a ground rule RBI double to right field by Brendan Ryan. Doha and I yelled until our throats were hoarse, and the noise elicited by the Yankee faithful could have been heard at the Dali Museum if the Trop was an open air stadium.
Later on in the inning, the Captain once again came up to bat. He began to show his age at the plate as of late, as he had gone 0-for-24 during his last seven games, and was already 0-for-2 on the night. But Jeter changed his fortune during that at bat, as roped a single into centerfield, bringing on another loud roar from the Yankee fans. Gardner drove him home with a sacrifice fly to deep right. We had momentarily thought that Gardner hit a grand slam, so most of the Yankee fans in right field produced a deafening cheer. Unfortunately, Rays right fielder Wil Myers made a great leaping grab to limit the Bombers to just one run.
The rest of the game flew by. Yankee reliever Dellin Betances broke Yankee legend Mariano Rivera’s season record for strikeouts for a reliever, and New York closer David Robertson closed out the game with a perfect inning for his thirty-seventh save. Jeter got a 3-2 win during his final professional game in Tampa.
As Doha and I left the stadium, it was odd knowing that I would never see Jeter play in person again. For 20 years, he was the shortstop for the Bombers and another legend in Yankee lore. Even though it will definitely be an unsettling sight not seeing the familiar No.2 at short next season, it was an absolute pleasure to watch the Captain one last time.
Jordan Llanes can be reached at jordan.llanes@theminaretonline.com