UPDATED AS NEW GIFTS ARE RECEIVED:
I’ve been traveling a lot lately which hasn’t allowed me to post interesting baseball related news lately.
But I’ll try to make it up to you by posting this hilarious video of Ichiro impersonators in Los Angeles this week imitating Ichiro’s every move in the stands.
Now that I’ve gained your attention back, some of my travels have taken me to see the Derek Jeter farewell tour. I traveled to the great city of Milwaukee to do some tailgating with family and Yankee friends and to watch the Brewers take 2 out of 3 games (I was hoping to see Tanaka pitch but missed his start by a day). We were really hoping to be a part of Jeter’s farewell tour since this is his last stop in Milwaukee before he retires after 20 seasons with the Yankees.
As typical farewell tours have gone recently (Mariano Rivera and Chipper Jones) when the player comes through the stadium for his final game, the home team presents him with a small parting gift. I think my favorite gift in recent years has been the Twins gift to Mariano, “The chair of broken dreams” (a rocking chair made up of bats that Mariano’s cutters have broke).
Jeter has taken his tour through 3 stadiums so far and here is his current collection of gifts (compared to what Rivera got):
| Team | Jeter’s Gifts | Rivera’s Gifts |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Astros: | Golf Clubs, Cowboy Hat, Custom Pinstripe Boots | Rivera Collage Painting |
| Los Angeles Angels: | Pinstripe Paddleboard | Oil Painting |
| Milwaukee Brewers: | Bronze bat, $10k to Jeter’s Charity | No visit to Milwaukee |
I really wish a team would give him a patented ‘Jeter Gift Basket‘. At least give it to him as a gag gift…
If you are interested in all of Jeter’s goodbye presents, I’ll pin this post to the site’s menu bar and keep the Jeter gift list as up-to-date as possible. So check back often on Yankee road trips.
