“Get outta here,” Joe Torre recalls how Derek Jeter once ‘pissed’ him off during game against White Sox

Joe Torre talks about how Derek Jeter once managed to both impress and piss him off during a game against Chicago White Sox.

“Get outta here,” Joe Torre recalls how Derek Jeter once ‘pissed’ him off during game against White Sox

Derek Jeter and Joe Torre [Image Credit: Imago/Diamond Nation]

In a recent podcast interview, MLB legend Joe Torre spoke about a time when Derek Jeter was a newbie on the diamond. Recalling a famous moment when ‘Captain Clutch’ did not come into clutch but failed a crucial run for the team, giving a boost to the rival Chicago White Sox.

It was during his 1996 rookie season when Jeter was on second base with slugger Cecil Fielder on the plate with two outs. At that time, Jeter was already a trusted Yankee and a baserunner, so many did not expect him to make a silly mistake in judgment during the on-plate game.

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While Torres thought Jeter would handle the situation perfectly and not run mindlessly to the third base, his fears were proven true as he saw ‘Captain Clutch’ running for third base and was called out. 

...I’m pissed. Now, I’m blaming myself, I should’ve put the hold on, I gave him more credit than he deserved and all that stuff.
Joe Torre on The 6-1-1 Podcast.

But Torres was surprised to see how Jeter owned his mistake and left no space except a whack on the back of the head from the former MLB player. While he knew players who screw up go deep inside the dugout to sit or drink water to let the matter sink in.

But Derek Jeter was different. He squeezed right in between Torres and the bench coach Don Zimmer and sat right in. Seeing his action, Joe Torres said,

What do you say? I hit him in the back of the head. I said, ‘Get outta here’. Because he knew. He knew he screwed up. But that was him…He never hid from anything.
Joe Torre on The 6-1-1 Podcast.

That personality of Jeter made him the El Capitan. The person who etched his name in the Yankees’ history with five World Series titles, five Gold Glove Awards, and five Silver Sluggers, among many more accomplishments. 

Joe Torre compares Aaron Judge to Derek Jeter

Joe Torre also compared Aaron Judge to Derek Jeter in his golden days, who had the air of captaincy. Just like the former player, Judge has become the core center for the Yankees team, leading the team to mind-blowing records both personally and as a group.

Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter [Image Credit: Imago]
Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter [Image Credit: Imago]

He spoke about how their mentalities align with each other as both want to focus on team win and effort rather than individual success. Plus they both do not waste time thinking of past mistakes and losses, instead how they both capitalize on the present and learn from their errors.

The 6-1-1 Podcast host and former Philadelphia Phillies player Ryan Howard said how a captain is differentiated from the team. “That’s when you know you’ve got somebody different…you don’t see that very, very often. That’s where you know he was cut from a different cloth,” he added.

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