TORONTO — The baseball universe is fascinated that Thursday is Derek Jeter’s 40th birthday.
It’s a feeling the Yankees’ shortstop doesn’t share, and it has nothing to do with being ungrateful that people care how old he is.
“It’s like turning any other number, I don’t pay attention to numbers,’’ Jeter said before the Yankees’ 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays Wednesday night at Rogers Centre. “I really don’t sit down and look at my age and adjust or compare. I really have never done that and I probably shouldn’t start now.’’
While manager Joe Girardi says it’s his responsibility to give Jeter proper rest to keep him productive on the field, Jeter still abhors days off. Nevertheless, he has made a concession to growing into a baseball senior citizen.
“I don’t eat fast food,’’ Jeter said. “I did when I was younger.
Jeter said he believes if he doesn’t let the age issue creep into his head, then it can’t bother him on or off the field.
“I don’t think about it,” he said. “Your mind is very important and if you start thinking that way, that’s when you’re in trouble. If you sit around and say you’re getting old, that causes problems. Mentally, to deal with it and be in a good place, I don’t deal with it.’’
After appearing in only 17 games in 2013 due to recovering from a twice-fractured ankle and various lower leg problems, Jeter admits the road back has been a little longer than he anticipated.
“It has taken a while to get back in the swing of things,’’ said Jeter, who is batting .268. “They play this game every day for a reason and it takes a while to get back in the flow. I thought it would come quicker. It’s taken a while. You just have to go out and play.’’
Perhaps because this is the last season of a Hall of Fame career or people look at a 40-year-old differently than they do one at 30. But Jeter making mental mistakes, as he did in Tuesday’s 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays, stands out. In the home opener, Jeter thought he had homered and didn’t run full throttle out of the batter’s box and the ball didn’t clear the left-field fence.
Asked about getting days off, as he did Monday, Jeter directed the conversation to Girardi’s office around the corner of the clubhouse.
“You have to ask him,” said Jeter, who started at shortstop Wednesday for the 63rd time this season. “I don’t like days off. If he chooses to do it you have to ask him that question.’’
Being a regular shortstop at 40 is rare. Hall of Famer Honus Wagner, Luke Appling and Omar Vizquel played 100 or more games at short at 40 or older.
Jeter said when he broke into the big leagues in 1995, he never looked around the clubhouse and thought about how old a teammate was.
“I never thought differently because he was older,’’ Jeter said. “You learn from a guy with a lot of experience but it’s not like walking around with a scarlet letter.’’
Jeter said he will spend Thursday with “family and friends,’’ as he does each birthday.
According to a person familiar with the situation, the Padres have asked the Yankees permission to interview Billy Eppler for their vacant general manager’s job, and the Yankees will oblige.
Eppler is an assistant GM in charge of pro scouting.
The Yankees had a long delay getting home from Toronto as severe storms on the East Coast brought airports to a standstill Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. Their charter plane was grounded in Philadelphia due to the bad weather. Having already checked out of their hotel in Toronto, the team was stuck in the visiting clubhouse at Rogers Centre past 1:00 in the morning.
The Yankees did not arrive home until 5 a.m. — good for them, there is no game Thursday.
David Robertson worked in his 365th game as a Yankee and tied Waite Hoyt for 12th place among pitchers on the club’s all-time list.
Girardi watched the struggling Brian McCann bag two hits Tuesday night and get robbed of another one, but wasn’t tempted to start the catcher Wednesday night.
“Not necessarily, sometimes you look at the type of games and how physical the last two games have been,’’ Girardi said before Francisco Cervelli worked with Hiroki Kuroda. “This is probably a good time. I’ve played Mac a lot and this way I can give him two days [off]. I should be able to play him over the weekend.’’
That’s when the Yankees play host to the Red Sox after being idle Thursday.
McCann is hitting .223 with eight homers and 34 RBIs. Cervelli went 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Because nobody from the medical side of the Yankees’ organization told Girardi otherwise, he believed CC Sabathia came through Tuesday’s 34-pitch simulated game in Tampa fine and is on track to pitch in a minor league game Saturday.
“That’s a good sign,’’ Girardi said of the silence.
With the struggling Vidal Nuno scheduled to open the Red Sox series, Girardi repeated what he has been saying for a week when asked about not skipping the left-hander.
“Right now, we’re in rotation,’’ Girardi said.
That means barring a trade or a promotion of a minor league starter, Nuno will start Friday.