New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is calm, cool and collected — even when a crazy fan runs onto the field looking for a hug.
Jeter was forced to deal with an overaggressive fan wearing a Ryan Braun jersey during the Yankees’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday at Miller Park. The fan ran onto the field and, according to Jeter, wanted a hug, but the Yankees legend wasn’t taking the bait.
“I was thinking, I wasn’t gonna hug him,” Jeter recounted to reporters after Friday’s game. “That was pretty much it.”
“If you saw his face, he wasn’t coming out there with anger,” Jeter added. “You know what I mean? So, no, I wasn’t scared.”
While Jeter didn’t sweat the weird encounter, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was a bit more concerned. He simply didn’t want anything to happen to his shortstop because of some wacko overstepping his boundaries.
“I was like, ‘Derek, move,'” Girardi said. “Derek just kind of stood there. Obviously, he didn’t feel threatened. But it’s not what you want. You never know what people are up to. It happens, and it’s an unfortunate part of the game. But I thought the Brewers handled it well.”
Security ultimately took down the fan, putting an end to the strange situation. It wasn’t without warning, though, as Jeter actually offered the young gentleman some advice before the security takedown.
“I said, ‘You’re going to get in trouble,'” Jeter recalled. “Then he repeated that he wanted a hug. And then I said, ‘Look out.'”
Too late. The Derek Jeter Farewell Tour certainly is off to an interesting start.
