Don’t expect Derek Jeter to pull a Roger Clemens.
The retired Yankees captain told NBC’s Matt Lauer he is “one hundred percent sure” he made the right decision to call it quit after 20 memorable seasons.
“You know it’s funny, because someone had mentioned to me I went from an old man in baseball to a young man in life,” he said in the interview, set to air Wednesday morning on the “Today” show. “And I liked how that sounded. So I consider myself young again.”
Jeter also relived his final game at Yankee Stadium, when he capped his Bronx career with a walk-off single in the Yankees’ 6-5 victory over the Orioles on Thursday.
“When we got into about the eighth inning and you know, the fans started chanting, ‘Thank you’ — that’s when I almost lost it on the field,” he said. “And to be honest with you, if the game would have finished five to two, like we all thought it was going to finish, then … there’s no telling what would have happened.
“But my emotions just immediately changed, because they tied the game and then now it’s, ‘You got to go and hit.’ And I’m, ‘Aw, I can’t believe I got to go out and try to do this again.’ So, everything changed from being sad to being excited. And you know, once I was excited, then I kept it together.”
Lauer recited a list of four athletes: Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, Andy Pettitte. “Winners,” Jeter said. Yes, and greats of their respective sports who came out of retirement. “My name will not be on that list,” Jeter vowed. “I’ve played my last game.”
One subject Jeter would not touch. When the all-time bachelor was asked about his personal life, Lauer said in the studio, “He shot me a look that said ‘I’m about to kill you.’ ”