George W Bush recalls moment with Derek Jeter before nerve-wracking pitch at Yankee Stadium after 9/11
Former US President George W. Bush has recounted a light-hearted exchange with New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter moments before he threw a ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium in the weeks following the 11 September 2001 attacks. Bush shared the anecdote alongside his former national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, at a reunification event at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas, as the nation approaches the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
Bush recalled that during the October 2001 World Series, Jeter warned him, "Don't bounce it, they'll boo you," easing some of the tension he felt while leading the country through a fragile period. He described the pitch itself as nerve-wracking, saying the catcher looked "really tiny" and the ball felt "really heavy," while he sensed the crowd's defiant mood, imagining they were thinking attackers could destroy buildings but not America's spirit. The pitch reached the plate successfully, a moment Bush called "amazing" and "memorable." The 25th anniversary of the attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people died after hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, falls this coming Friday.
In short
- Bush recalls Jeter's joke before his 2001 World Series first pitch
- Anecdote shared with Condoleezza Rice at Dallas 9/11 event
- Comes ahead of 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks
Explained simply
The September 11 attacks in 2001 involved hijacked planes striking the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, while another crashed in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, and the attacks brought a period of grief and uncertainty in the United States.
George W. Bush was US president at the time, and Derek Jeter was the New York Yankees’ shortstop. The Yankees are a Major League Baseball team based in New York; a ceremonial first pitch is thrown before a game to mark a special occasion.