“…You’re Gonna Get Booed. This Is Yankee Stadium” Former NY Yankees Skipper Derek Jeter Once Warned President George Bush During His Historic Arrival at the World Series Game After 9/11 Attacks

The horrific and brutal 9/11 attacks left a scar in everyone’s mind. While there was no set path to get over the massacre, a display of unity and strength would make every American feel safe in their homes. Former USA President George Bush, managed to do exactly that when he arrived at the NY Yankees home ground on October 30, 2001.

President Bush arrived at an extremely “scared” Yankee Stadium filled with security personnel, Secret Service Agents, metal detectors, and dogs on bomb patrol. While there was excitement to witness a Yankee comeback, the overriding emotion at the stadium was fear. Throughout all that, President Bush arrived to throw the ceremonial first pitch.

President George Bush’s arrival at the NY Yankees home-ground

President Bush started by talking about the fear of disappointing his citizens by not finding the plate. He said, “I wanted to make sure that if I was going to throw out the ball, I was able to do so with a little zip. I didn’t want people to think that their president was incapable of finding the plate.”

While throwing some balls in the nets, President Bush met Derek Jeter. Jeter said, “I asked him if he was going to be throwing the first pitch from the mound or in front of the mound. And I told him, you better throw from the mound, otherwise, you’re gonna get booed. This is Yankee Stadium.”

President Bush responded by saying, “I said okay, I’ll throw from the mound. And he’s walking out, and he looks over his shoulder and he says, ‘Don’t bounce it, they’ll boo you.’ I’m sitting there kind of fairly relaxed and feeling fairly lose and the great Derek Jeter says ‘don’t bounce it, they’ll boo ya.’ And all of a sudden, the pressure mounted.”

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To conclude, while describing the moment at the Yankee stadium, President Bush said, “I’d never felt what I felt before when I walked out of that dugout. I felt the raw emotion of the Yankee fans.”

2001 World Series

In the 2001 World Series, the New York Yankees took on the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Yanks reached this World Series with a splendid record in the recent past, where they won four World Series Titles from 1996 to 2000. However, 2001 did not go the way the NY Yankees would’ve wanted. After facing a heavy 1-9 and 0-4 defeat in games one and two, the Yanks made a strong comeback and took a 3-2 lead by winning three consecutive matches. However, game six of the World Series was the one to forget for generations. The Yanks succumbed to a heavy 2-15 defeat. Ultimately, they lost the last game 2-3 and broke their World Series streak to the Diamondbacks.

Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling from the Diamondbacks, jointly won the MVP award. The 2001 World Series was iconic in multiple ways. It was a pathway back to normalcy to reach everyone’s mind through sports.

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