Yankees fans and baseball fans from around the world watched with respect as one of baseball’s greats addressed the people he has lived to entertain for 20 long and historical seasons.

In celebration of Derek Jeter Day the Yankee captain tipped his cap as he gave his thanks to the people he feels have pushed him to become the player he is today: the fans.

In remembrance of one of the classiest gentlemen in the game, here is the speech that the captain gave before he took the field against the Royals on September 7 at Yankees Stadium.

Thank you. It’s kind of hard to believe that 20 seasons has gone by so quickly. They are so many people I want to thank, and I’ll get that opportunity to do that over the next few weeks, both publicly and privately. I want to take a brief moment to thank the Steinbrenner family, Mr. George Steinbrenner, for giving me the opportunity to play my entire career for the only organization I’ve ever wanted to play for.

I want to thank my family and friends who are all over. Thanks for all the love and support throughout the years, through the good times and more importantly through the tough times. Thank you very much.

My managers, coaches, trainers, teammates, both cur- rent and former, I’ve been blessed to play with the best, and I wouldn’t want to compete without any of you guys, so thank you very much.
And lastly, most importantly, I want to thank you the fans. Everyone that’s here today, anyone’s that at home watching, anyone that’s ever been here over the course or watched during the last 20 seasons, thank you very much. You guys have all watched me grow up over the last 20 years. I’ve watched you, too. Some of you guys getting old, too. But I want to thank you for helping me feel like a kid for the last 20 years.

In my opinion, I’ve had the greatest job in the world. I got a chance to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees and there’s only one of those. And I always felt as though it was my job, was to try to provide joy and entertainment for you guys, but it can’t compare to what you brought me. So for that, thank you very much.

I’ve loved what I’ve done. I love what I do. More importantly, I’ve loved doing it for you. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you very much.
We’ve got a game to play.”
 -Derek Jeter

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