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The 2022 New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, but it was a double-header night for one of the franchise’s ultimate icons.
Episodes 3 and 4 of The Captain aired Thursday as ESPN’s seven-part documentary exploring the legendary 20-year career of Derek Jeter continued.
Much like The Last Dance, which highlighted Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls of the 1990s, the documentary mixes present-day interviews with Jeter and other vital members of the Yankees dynasty with archival footage in an effort to retell key stories from the Hall of Famer’s career.
Episode 3
Episode 3 was all about the Yankees’ titles in 1999 and 2000, which were the second and third championships of their three-peat.
It was also about some of the individual rivalries Jeter faced along the way with his Bronx Bombers overcoming Nomar Garciaparra’s Boston Red Sox in the 1999 American League Championship Series and Alex Rodriguez’s Seattle Mariners in the 2000 ALCS.
Laurence Holmes @LaurenceWHolmes
“That’s what losers say.” <br><br>-Jeter on Nomar saying 99 Red Sox were the better team even though they lost the ALCS. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheCaptain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#TheCaptain</a> <a href=”https://t.co/igQHdvUWtO”>pic.twitter.com/igQHdvUWtO</a>
While arguments can be made that Rodriguez was the better player and Garciaparra was in that category, Jeter was happy to remind everyone that he was the one who won the most. It seemed to cost him an element of his friendship with Rodriguez, but A-Rod’s critical comments that Jeter never had to lead a loaded New York team also stood out during the episode.
They didn’t seem too friendly when they were talking to each other on the field following a brawl between the Yankees and Mariners, but Jeter’s teammate Chad Curtis seemed to take issue with the shortstops talking instead of fighting. Jeter shot down speculation that New York got rid of Curtis because of that, saying he would have given himself a contract extension if he had that power.
TJ Keasal @_talkswithtj
“If you slight me in any way I have a unique ability to just cut people off” – <a href=”https://twitter.com/derekjeter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@derekjeter</a> <br><br>If you understand nothing else about me, understand this before you take action….<br><br>Plenty of people left right where their behavior moved to questionable! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheCaptain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#TheCaptain</a>
Yet it was Rodriguez’s comments that Jeter said hurt him the most and impacted their friendship even though A-Rod apologized in person.
The individual relationship between the two shortstops was the focal point of the episode, but the 2000 Subway Series between the two New York teams also stood out. Backstories included Roger Clemens throwing a piece of a broken bat near Mike Piazza, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner bringing his own furniture into Shea Stadium and Jeter leading off Game 4 with a homer on a fastball over the middle.
He also didn’t seem too scared of his New York counterpart:
Turns out, it was just the Mets when the Yankees won in five games.
Episode 4
New York was going for their fourth straight title in 2001, but baseball took a backseat after the terrorist attacks of September 11. Episode 4 explored the dynamics of baseball returning and the Yankees providing a semblance of normalcy for the city, especially in the playoffs.
“We were truly playing for something way, way bigger,” Jeter said.
Those playoffs included the Yankees overcoming a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Oakland Athletics in the Division Series with Jeter saving the season with the famous flip play to retire Jeremy Giambi at the plate in Game 3.
While the Arizona Diamondbacks eventually defeated the Yankees in seven games in the World Series, New York had two incredible moments to celebrate. Most notably, Jeter’s walk-off homer in Game 4 after the clock struck midnight and the calendar flipped made him Mr. November.
ESPN @espn
The moment <a href=”https://twitter.com/derekjeter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@derekjeter</a> became “Mr. November” ????<br><br>Ep. 3 and 4 of <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheCaptain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#TheCaptain</a> premiere tonight on ESPN and <a href=”https://twitter.com/ESPNPlus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@espnplus</a> ???? <a href=”https://t.co/GhalfuPaly”>pic.twitter.com/GhalfuPaly</a>
Heath Blackmon @heathblackmon9
Watching <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheCaptain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#TheCaptain</a> makes it pretty clear that Derek Jeter was the greatest “winner” in baseball history. The toughest job in the toughest organization and all he did was thrive. <a href=”https://t.co/O0LdnksPQY”>pic.twitter.com/O0LdnksPQY</a>
The Yankees also won Game 5 after Scott Brosius tied it with a two-run homer in the ninth and Alfonso Soriano had the walk-off hit, providing the city with the emotional release that came with back-to-back dramatic wins.
The rest of the episode included stories of Jeter’s back-and-forths with Steinbrenner about his night life, No. 2 becoming the official captain and the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry going to another level during New York’s seven-game victory in the 2003 ALCS that saw Aaron Boone hit the walk-off in the decisive contest.
Billy Reinhardt @BillyReinhardt
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheCaptain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#TheCaptain</a> is definitely more niche and localized than “The Last Dance,” but for a Yankees fan that grew up during the Jeter era, this is awesome.<br><br>Especially for a guy like Derek who rarely took people behind the curtain during his career.
“It’s Boston,” Jeter said when asked why he never doubted the Yankees would win that series, echoing his comments on the Mets from the 2000 Fall Classic.
Unfortunately for Jeter and the Yankees, that narrative ended when they lost to the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS even though they added Rodriguez the previous offseason. Still, the Captain had plenty of bragging rights during a career that featured five championships.
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