As baseball enters its postseason, both New York teams suffered through a forgettable year. Luckily, I have some fond baseball memories to get me through the winter. Here is one that almost did not happen.

In 2011, Derek Jeter was approaching his 3,000th hit.  When he was 2 hits away, I bought a ticket for Friday night at Yankee Stadium. I hoped that he wanted to get that memorable hit in front of his home fans.

At the stadium, I was startled to see a sign saying the game was postponed due to approaching rain. My ticket could not be used for the Saturday game.

I woke up Saturday morning and decided to go online to try to find a ticket. I went on Craigslist. I found a posting that said a guy had one seat available which he agreed to sell to me for $100. I met him at the stadium and went to our seats, which were field level, twenty rows behind home plate! 

The crowd was amped up hoping that they would witness Derek Jeter getting his 3000th hit. When he came up to bat everybody knew he needed 2 hits to reach that milestone. The fans stood up and began clapping and cheering. The noise escalated when, in his first at bat, he hit a single to left field.

The crowd anxiously waited for his next turn at bat. Everybody stood up as David Price threw the pitch. With a deafening noise we watched as the ball sailed over the left field wall. Number 3000 was in the books! We all felt part of history. 

On my way out of the stadium I bought a t-shirt that was already on sale commemorating his 3000th hit. Little did I know that the shirt would play a part in another memorable Yankee moment for me.

Derek Jeter retired in 2014. To celebrate that event, Gatorade sponsored a tribute television commercial. As an actor, I submitted for it and was selected along with 100 others to play a Yankee fan. Because I wore my 3000th hit t-shirt, I was one of 15 chosen to be in the first scene filmed at the legendary Stan’s Sports Bar near the stadium.

The door opened and Jeter was escorted in. He was very gracious, saying hello to some of the bartenders and background actors. When he came over to me, he shook my hand. As he walked away, I said, “Hey Derek.” He turned around as I pointed to my t-shirt and said, “I was at that game!” He came back over to me and smiled, saying, “Me too!”

But that memorable Yankee moment was not finished. Eventfully they took all the background actors and lined us up on the ramp named “Babe Ruth Way” that led into an entrance to Yankee Stadium. 

The director told us to applaud and cheer as Derek walked past us to the Stadium. We were also told that we should not reach out to shake his hand unless Derek initiated it.

On “Action” Jeter slowly walked up the ramp. And then as if by magic, he recognized me from our earlier encounter in Stan’s Sports Bar. He walked over to me and extended his hand. As we shook hands, he laughed and said “Nice Shirt” before continuing up the ramp.

It was a very memorable moment and it led to another. I received a letter from the production company, that because they were using the handshake on the ramp as Derek spoke to me, I was being upgraded to a principal role, which meant an increase in my base pay and residuals when the commercial aired.

When the Gatorade tribute to Derek Jeter aired, I taped it and also took a still picture of our handshake. I keep it on my cell phone. If you ever see me and want to see the picture, just say “Hey Hudson. I read your column.” 

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.