Derek Jeter: 5 best moments of career
2. “The Dive”
July 1, 2004
Despite winning five Gold Gloves during his career, Jeter is not remembered as an excellent defender at shortstop. He made some incredible defensive plays, though, including a head-first dive into the seats at Yankee Stadium during a regular season game against the Red Sox July 1, 2004.
The game itself was a thriller. After the Red Sox scored in the top of the 13th inning to take a 4-3 lead, the Yankees stormed back in the bottom half of the frame and a trio of unlikely heroes – Ruben Sierra, Miguel Cairo and John Flaherty – connected on back-to-back-to-back hits with two outs to walk off with a 5-4 victory. But, before the Yankees were able to pick up the win, Jeter made arguably his greatest defensive play.
With the game tied 3-3 in the 12th inning and runners on second and third, Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon popped up into the no-man’s land behind third base, near the left field foul line. Jeter, running at full speed, made a running catch with no time to stop before launching himself over the short wall down the third base line. The shortstop dove into a sea of fans, apparently smashing his face on a seat in the process.
With fans, security personnel and third baseman Alex Rodriguez all clamoring to check on his health, cameras spotted Jeter getting to his feet, blood dripping down his chin and a bruise already showing on the side of his face.
“The Dive” became the perfect example of Jeter’s toughness and willingness to do whatever it would take to win.