Joe Torre was at Yankee Stadium to see Derek Jeter get his 3,000th hit, but it was the ones later in the game that meant even more to the former manager.
First, the line drive to right in the sixth and then the game-winner in the eighth — No. 3,003 to cap a 5-for-5 day.
“That was him,” Torre said. “I don’t care how much his ability has diminished, I guess you could say. At 37, it’s no surprise you’re not as good as you were at 27. But he still scares me if I was in other dugout.”
Torre had a feeling Jeter wasn’t going to get hit No. 3,000 with a slow roller — the way he got Nos. 1,000 and 2,000.
“With all the questions about, ‘Where does he fit now?’ and 3,000 hits, when he swung at that high changeup in his second at-bat, you could tell he was not pussy-footing around,” Torre said after watching Jeter homer in the third inning for his milestone hit.
Torre was on hand for many of Jeter’s historic moments and yesterday was there in his role representing the commissioner’s office, and he talked to the shortstop after the game.
“I just said how proud I was of him,” Torre said.
And he wasn’t shocked that Jeter’s day included five hits and some late-inning heroics.
“We’ve been around him and watched him so long that nothing he does should surprise anybody,” Torre said. “He’s always been a guy who was able to rise to the occasion. And . . . you know this is not an easy city to play in.”
“I think he’s happy it’s behind him,” he added. “Now he can just think about winning games instead of getting hits.”
Torre said he also believes the chase for the 3,000 hits was weighing on Jeter, which the shortstop finally admitted after the 5-4 win in The Bronx.
“He will never let on to that, but I remember early on in his career, [he was] trying to hit 20 home runs one season when we had already clinched [a playoff spot] and he was a mess.”
Jeter always is better when he isn’t worried about going for stats or numbers.
“Anytime he tries to do something for himself, he got in trouble,” Torre said.
But the old manager thought Jeter would appreciate becoming just the second player — along with Wade Boggs — to get his 3,000th hit with a home run.
“The home run is significant,” Torre said. “But to me, I love the line drive to right field for hit number four [in the sixth]. We hadn’t seen much of that lately.”
All in all, a pretty good day.
“I don’t think you could have scripted it any better,” Torre said. “A day game on a Saturday afternoon against a division rival with the best pitcher on the staff out there. There were no gimmees.”
Torre also had his own reason for wanting the hit to come yesterday.
“I was up against it [today],” Torre said. “I have to go to Phoenix [for the All-Star Game]. I told him, ‘Thanks for helping me make my 10:30 flight.’ “