NEW YORK -- There was so much discussion about how to best script the perfect moment, the ideal way for Derek Jeter to bid farewell to the Bronx in the only pinstriped uniform he ever wanted to wear. And in the end, the only way to properly handle someone who fought so hard never to come out of the lineup was to just let him play the game. 
Manager Joe Girardi never moved from his spot in the dugout during the top of the ninth inning. It was Jeter's game to play, and it was his game to end, slashing a walk-off single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning that lifted the Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Orioles on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.Following Jeter's hit off Evan Meek, he was mobbed by his teammates between first and second base as Jose Pirela raced home, then was greeted on the field by familiar faces of his Yankees past: former manager Joe Torre, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and good friend Gerald Williams.Jeter walked to his shortstop position, crouched and then doffed his batting helmet countless times in the air as the sellout crowd of 48,613 again serenaded him with chants of his name. Asked what was going through his mind stepping in for the final at-bat, Jeter replied, "Don't cry.""Most importantly, I'm going to miss the fans," Jeter said.The Yankees held a three-run lead heading into the ninth inning, with Jeter trying to choke back his emotions. Long home runs by Adam Jones and Steve Pearce off David Robertson shredded that ending, forcing the Yankees to scramble for a new way to complete Jeter's home story.The weather never proved to be an issue on a crisp and surprisingly clear evening, accompanying this final opportunity to salute the outgoing captain. It felt and sounded like October in the Bronx, and not surprisingly, that was an atmosphere in which Jeter seemed right at home.Putting the pinstripes on for the final time as an active player, Jeter said goodbye in a three-RBI performance, pelting the left-field wall with a first-inning double off Kevin Gausman before advancing on a wild pitch and scoring the tying run on a fielding error.
In the seventh, the recorded voice of Bob Sheppard accompanied Jeter to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Ryan Webb entered and induced Jeter to hit a broken-bat grounder to shortstop J.J. Hardy, who threw wildly to second base as Ichiro Suzuki and Pirela scored, giving the Yanks the lead.The top of the eighth produced another chant from the right-field bleachers: this one, 'Thank you, Jeter," which was acknowledged with a wave of the shortstop's glove. The cheering quickly spread, forcing Jeter to maintain his emotions while fielding his position.Even before Robertson's missteps, not everything followed Jeter's ideal script. The Bleacher Creatures had just landed upon his name in a final roll call when Nick Markakis launched a Hiroki Kuroda sinker into the second deck in right field, providing an unwanted souvenir that was swiftly returned to the playing field.Alejandro De Aza followed with another homer off Kuroda, who quickly settled in and held the Orioles to three hits in a nine-strikeout performance in what also may have been his final outing; Kuroda has not tipped his plans for 2015, but he has seriously pondered retirement in the past.Jeter also committed a second-inning throwing error on a slow Kelly Johnson grounder, but Kuroda pitched around that miscue. Ranging nicely to his left in the fourth, Jeter flagged a Jones grounder up the middle that was scored as an inning-ending double play after review.Only the out-of-town scoreboard argued with the festive nature of the evening. With the Yankees having been officially eliminated from contention on Wednesday, this marked only the second time in Jeter's 2,745 career games that he has taken the field with his club mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.The victory, the Yankees' 82nd of the season, secured a 22nd consecutive winning record for the club. The streak is the second-longest stretch in Major League history, trailing only the Yankees' streak of 39 consecutive winning seasons from 1926-64.Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
Manager Joe Girardi never moved from his spot in the dugout during the top of the ninth inning. It was Jeter's game to play, and it was his game to end, slashing a walk-off single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning that lifted the Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Orioles on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.Following Jeter's hit off Evan Meek, he was mobbed by his teammates between first and second base as Jose Pirela raced home, then was greeted on the field by familiar faces of his Yankees past: former manager Joe Torre, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and good friend Gerald Williams.Jeter walked to his shortstop position, crouched and then doffed his batting helmet countless times in the air as the sellout crowd of 48,613 again serenaded him with chants of his name. Asked what was going through his mind stepping in for the final at-bat, Jeter replied, "Don't cry.""Most importantly, I'm going to miss the fans," Jeter said.The Yankees held a three-run lead heading into the ninth inning, with Jeter trying to choke back his emotions. Long home runs by Adam Jones and Steve Pearce off David Robertson shredded that ending, forcing the Yankees to scramble for a new way to complete Jeter's home story.The weather never proved to be an issue on a crisp and surprisingly clear evening, accompanying this final opportunity to salute the outgoing captain. It felt and sounded like October in the Bronx, and not surprisingly, that was an atmosphere in which Jeter seemed right at home.Putting the pinstripes on for the final time as an active player, Jeter said goodbye in a three-RBI performance, pelting the left-field wall with a first-inning double off Kevin Gausman before advancing on a wild pitch and scoring the tying run on a fielding error.
In the seventh, the recorded voice of Bob Sheppard accompanied Jeter to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Ryan Webb entered and induced Jeter to hit a broken-bat grounder to shortstop J.J. Hardy, who threw wildly to second base as Ichiro Suzuki and Pirela scored, giving the Yanks the lead.The top of the eighth produced another chant from the right-field bleachers: this one, 'Thank you, Jeter," which was acknowledged with a wave of the shortstop's glove. The cheering quickly spread, forcing Jeter to maintain his emotions while fielding his position.Even before Robertson's missteps, not everything followed Jeter's ideal script. The Bleacher Creatures had just landed upon his name in a final roll call when Nick Markakis launched a Hiroki Kuroda sinker into the second deck in right field, providing an unwanted souvenir that was swiftly returned to the playing field.Alejandro De Aza followed with another homer off Kuroda, who quickly settled in and held the Orioles to three hits in a nine-strikeout performance in what also may have been his final outing; Kuroda has not tipped his plans for 2015, but he has seriously pondered retirement in the past.Jeter also committed a second-inning throwing error on a slow Kelly Johnson grounder, but Kuroda pitched around that miscue. Ranging nicely to his left in the fourth, Jeter flagged a Jones grounder up the middle that was scored as an inning-ending double play after review.Only the out-of-town scoreboard argued with the festive nature of the evening. With the Yankees having been officially eliminated from contention on Wednesday, this marked only the second time in Jeter's 2,745 career games that he has taken the field with his club mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.The victory, the Yankees' 82nd of the season, secured a 22nd consecutive winning record for the club. The streak is the second-longest stretch in Major League history, trailing only the Yankees' streak of 39 consecutive winning seasons from 1926-64.Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
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