The MLB Hall-of-Famer returned to the ballpark that made him a star, with all three of his daughters going for the very first time!
Take me out to the ballgame! Derek Jeter’s daughters Bella, 5, Story, 3, and River, 9 months, got to see their dad’s old stomping grounds for the first time on Friday, September 9. Derek, 48, and his wife Hannah, 32, brought the whole family for a celebration of the former shortstop’s Hall Of Fame induction at Yankee Stadium.
“I’m so gracious that I’ve had an opportunity to spend 23 years of professional baseball — all with one organization,” Derek told the crowd, as his adorable family looked on with admiration. “I am appreciative that I had an opportunity to play with so many great players, coaches and managers.”
Derek went on to say that although he has lived in many locations throughout his life, Miami feels like “home” to him. He added, “It feels good to be back, I’ll tell you that much.”
Before the Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays, the Bronx Bombers honored the former team captain with a ceremony celebrating Derek getting inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame, back in 2020. The famed Yankee was announced to also throw out the first pitch, per Sports Illustrated.
Before their trip to the Bronx, Jeter shared an adorable video of him and Hannah talking to their daughters ahead of their first time at the ballpark. “Guys are you excited to go to Yankee Stadium?” Hannah asked, and the girls responded excitedly. Their dad asked about what they were most excited about. “What do you want to see at Yankee Stadium?” he said.
The girls are looking forward to their first time at Yankee Stadium tonight.
— Derek Jeter (@derekjeter) September 9, 2022
One of his girls said she was looking forward to trying some of the ballpark’s food, and Hannah chimed in to ask if she wanted a hot dog, a baseball classic. “I love hot dogs,” she said. Derek asked if they wanted to go on the field, and one of his girls adorably said that she was a little afraid, because she’s “not a good baseball player.” She also said she didn’t want a similar injury to the former shortstop. “I don’t want to break my leg, like you did,” she quipped. Derek laughed and assured her she’d be okay. “I don’t think you have to worry about that,” he said.
While it’s his girls’ first time at Yankee Stadium, Derek has returned to the Bronx on a few occasions himself. Two episodes of his critically-acclaimed docuseries The Captain were screened at the “House that Jeter Built” to celebrate the premiere in July, per the MLB. Three years after Derek’s final season in 2014, he was honored at the stadium once again when his jersey number (2) was retired in 2017.
