Jeter on Judge being captain: ‘This is historic’
NEW YORK — Derek Jeter was lower than six months faraway from his storybook ending, the well-known walk-off single that sealed his last sport within the Bronx, and the retired shortstop was sharing dinner with a bunch of prospects as a part of the Yankees’ “Captain’s Camp.”
Aaron Judge was seated on the desk that night in Tampa, Fla., seemingly hanging on Jeter’s each phrase.
That was the primary interplay between Jeter and Judge, the latter getting ready for his second full Minor League season. Judge arrived within the Majors in 2016, then discovered stardom because the American League’s Rookie of the Year in ’17. Now he’s each the AL’s Most Valuable Player and Jeter’s successor as Yankees captain.
“His size was the first thing that stands out, because you don’t see too many baseball players that size,” Jeter stated. “Everyone at the camp was kind of quiet; they don’t say too much. But you could tell he was respectful. You can tell if people are paying attention. You could tell that he was listening, and I take all responsibility now for him being captain.”
To that, Jeter grinned brightly. He was joking, in fact — Judge earned the honors of turning into the sixteenth captain in franchise historical past on his personal accord, however Jeter was touched that managing normal accomplice Hal Steinbrenner flew him from Miami to New York for the Yankee Stadium news convention. Willie Randolph, a Yankees co-captain from 1986-88, was additionally in attendance.
“Look, I’m a Yankees historian,” Jeter stated. “So this is historic. People will be talking about it 20, 30, 40 years from now. There’s only a short list of Yankees captains. I thought it was important for me, because they thought it was important for me to be here.”
Jeter stated that he believes Judge has carried out a “great job” of dealing with himself within the New York highlight, and he sees the identical winning-first mindset that Jeter adhered to throughout his twenty years because the Yanks’ shortstop.
“You talk to his teammates, his coaches, his manager — that tells you all you need to know,” Jeter stated.
“I think having two great New York sports teams is phenomenal,” Steinbrenner stated. “It’s phenomenal for the city. It’s phenomenal for the rivalry, and I’m all for it. I was hoping we’d both be the last two standing [in the World Series], but it didn’t work out that way on either part. But hopefully it does this year.”
Added Steinbrenner: “Steve’s put together a great team. We have a great team, too. It doesn’t bother me. The timing is what it is. I’m focused on today. All I know is our Yankees fans are very excited today.”
Out of left subject
If the season have been to start now, the Yankees’ left-field selections can be Oswaldo Cabrera, Estevan Florial and Aaron Hicks. It’s a bunch that normal supervisor Brian Cashman is seeking to improve, particularly now that Andrew Benintendi has agreed to a five-year, $75 million cope with the White Sox.
“We loved having Andrew Benintendi, and it would have been nice to retain him,” Cashman stated. “So we’re down a left-handed bat, which would fit right and left field. That would be something we would prefer. At the same time, you can’t have everything you want at all times. We’ll continue to patiently assess opportunities.”
The Yankees are believed to have spoken with the Pirates a few doable commerce for Bryan Reynolds and with the Twins about Max Kepler. Michael Conforto, a free agent, can be thought to have drawn curiosity.
He stated it
“I hugged and kissed my wife [Samantha]. My parents might have been sleeping, but I woke them up. I said, ‘I’ve got something you want to hear. I think it’d be good to wake up.’” — Judge, on the very first thing he did after Steinbrenner agreed to the nine-year deal
