In an exclusive interview with TODAY co-anchor Matt Lauer airing Wednesday on TODAY, five-time World Series champion Derek Jeter opened up about retirement, saying it's given him new life.
UPDATE: See Derek Jeter's Wednesday TODAY interview
Following a game-winning hit in his final bat at Yankee Stadium, and a rousing ovation from — of all people — Red Sox fans in his last game, Jeter fielded questions from Lauer for the likely Hall-of-Famer’s first television interview since his retirement.
“OK, you’re two days into the rest of your life,” Lauer asked Jeter, in an interview that taped Tuesday. “So, what was the first day like? I mean, obviously, you're coming off the high of Boston. But what was it like? Did you look around? Did you stand in your apartment and say, ‘Now what?’”
“You know, it's funny, because someone had mentioned to me: I went from an old man in baseball to a young man in life," Jeter said. "And I liked how that sounded. So, I consider myself young again.”
In addition to saying he’s “100 percent sure” he’s not returning to play baseball, the former Yankees captain also talks about handling the spotlight, including the emotional moments of his final home game — which almost ended without his game-winning hit.
“When we got into about the eighth inning and you know, the fans started chanting, ‘Thank you,’ — that’s when I almost lost it on the field. And to be honest with you, if the game would have finished [with the score] 5-2, like we all thought it was going to finish, then there's no telling what would have happened. But my emotions just immediately changed, because they tied the game and then now it's, ‘You got to go and hit.’ And I'm, ‘Aw, I can't believe I got to go out and try to do this again.’ So, everything changed from being sad to being excited. And you know, once I was excited, then I kept it together.”
Tune in to TODAY Wednesday to catch the full interview.