Derek Jeter Press Conference LIVE STREAM: Yankee Captain Plans to Address Media on Retirement
ByDerek Jeter has already announced his plan to retire at the end of the season, later reiterated he was comfortable with his decision and is now ready to discuss it.
From George M. Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees' spring training complex, Jeter will address the media regarding his impending retirement at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
CLICK HERE to watch a live stream of Jeter's press conference.
The Yankees' shortstop of 19 years has been working out at the complex earlier than most of the rest of the team in rehabbing a twice-broken ankle. Jeter, the team's captain since 2003, said the 20th season in his storied career was the first that felt more like a job than the game he loves.
"The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward," Jeter told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "So really, it was months ago when I realized that this season would likely be my last."
Since his announcement on Facebook, fans, teammates, other players and personnel around MLB have expressed their gratitude toward Jeter.
"I was shocked, to be honest with you," Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira told Hoch. "I thought that Derek had a couple years left in him. I could have seen Derek playing until he was 44 or 45; I really could have. But I'm excited that he gets a chance to go out on his own terms and gets to enjoy that last season. We're going to enjoy it with him."
"You want to think a guy like that is going to play forever," Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia said. "I'm saddened, I guess, because he's not going to be around."
"He was always really personable to me," Red Sox pitcher Clay Bucholz told ESPN's Gordon Edes. "That's something I'll never forget."
"From the start, it was clear that we had the same set of values. We had the same respect for the game. The only thing that was important to either one of us was winning, all the stuff that went into winning. I can only describe it this way: Derek never had enough of winning," Joe Torre, who was named the Yankees manager the same year as Jeter's rookie season, told the New York Daily News.
"I always treasured the relationship and always will."
The newest Yankees are also sad to see the captain retire, but are also glad to at least spend one season as a teammate.
"For me, he's been a big part of baseball," Beltran told the Daily News. "I feel personally he's got enough of baseball. He's been doing it so long, doing it the right way, always being a pro on and off the field. ... Being able to play with a guy that's a Hall of Famer - a first-ballot Hall of Famer - is a great feeling. I'm just looking forward to playing with him and hopefully helping this team win a championship. I know he has a lot of championships, but I don't have none. Hopefully I can win one."
"I think it was maybe 2004; I was on second or something and he just said, 'You can hit .300 in this league,'" Brian Roberts told the Daily News. "To hear it from someone like that, it just kind of opens your eyes. I don't think it's just me, I think he does it to everybody. But for some reason when he tells it to you, you think you're the most important person in the world. He's just kind of got that personality, and he's so good with people."
Then there is Brendan Ryan, the backup shortstop who will have the unfortunate task of playing for Jeter, who turns 40 in June, when the captain needs a day off.
"I'm going to get booed regardless," Ryan, an exceptional defender at shortstop, told ESPN. "I've been booed before. Who cares? If I'm getting high-fives from my teammates, I'm doing something right and that's what matters. Hopefully the fans will come around after that."