New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter spills the beans about an outlandish trick he followed to break slump
On Wednesday night, Derek Jeter revealed that he wore a golden thong to overcome his poor run of form in 2004 when he was on a shocking streak of 0 hits in 32 at-bats (0 for 32).
The baseball great made an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" to promote the new video game "MLB The Show 23." Jeter has been featured as the cover athlete on the Collector's Edition of the popular simulation game.
In a segment of the show titled True Confessions, Fallon and Jeter were joined by British musician Rita Ora. The segment entails one participant sharing an unknown fact or incident about them as others try to determine whether the person is lying or not. Jeter read out his confession:
"I once wore a thong in front of thousands of people."
Jeter then confirmed that to be true, explaining how one of his new teammates, Jason Giambi, used to have a golden thong hanging from his locker:
“He told me, 'Anytime you struggle, wear the gold thong and you are guaranteed to get a hit.' In 2004, I went through the worst offensive stretch in my career. Every day I’d walk in, and he’d point at the thong.”
Reluctantly, Jeter agreed to wear it in a game against the Oakland Athletics on April 29, 2004. And then:
"First pitch, home run!"
Watch Jeter's confession below:
Forever thankful that Jason Giambi’s golden thong saved Derek Jeter’s 2004 season https://t.co/bEzMhhs9nm
Derek Jeter's 2004 season
Derek Jeter still ended up with decent stats in his 2004 season, as his batting average was .292, with 78 RBIs and 23 home runs. He received an All-Star nomination as well as his first Gold Glove Award.
However, the 2004 MLB season ended in heartbreak for the New York Yankees as they lost a seven-game playoff series to the Boston Red Sox after winning their first three games in the ALCS.
Derek Jeter is a 14-time All-Star and a five-time World Series Champion. He represented the New York Yankees his entire career from 1995 to 2014. Jeter was inducted into the MLB Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020, his first year on the ballot.