Superstition and baseball often go hand-in-hand. Whether it's fans refusing to move from a specific spot while watching a game for fear of negatively affecting their team or a player sticking to a rigid routine after a good game, there's plenty of examples of superstition in the game.
Retired MLB starting pitcher CC Sabathia has one such example involving his former New York Yankees teammate—Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter. Sabathia shared a funny story of an experience he had with a superstitious Jeter during an appearance on the debut episode of the 6-1-1 Podcast, a show featuring former Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins and first baseman Ryan Howard.
Sabathia, during a road trip in Kansas City, asked Jeter if he wanted to accompany him to a soul food restaurant called Peachtree. We'll let Sabathia take the story from here.
Add Derek Jeter to the list of superstitious players 🤣
— MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2024
The first episode of The 6-1-1 Podcast with Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, featuring guest CC Sabathia, is available now wherever you get your podcasts. pic.twitter.com/Gt8IB2nZRw
"So for lunch, I'm like, 'Jeet, you want to go with me to lunch?' I'm like, 'I'm going to this place, Peachtree, it's a soul food restaurant.' He was like, 'Cool sure.' So we always have to stop at Starbucks first. I had a rental car... We stop at Starbucks, we go to Peachtree.
"I mean this food is so heavy, y'all know soul food. We eat this food, then we're both sleeping on the couch before the game. Jeet wakes up, goes 5-for-5, five hits. But his stomach is hurting. He could barely run the bases. He's hurting, bro. The next morning, he calls me at 11 a.m. He's like, 'You ready to go?' I'm like, 'Go where?' You know me, I'm 330 pounds. He's like, 'To Peachtree?' I'm like, 'I can't eat that again.'"
Too good.
Sabathia said the next day the two were back at Starbucks and Peachtree, though Jeter didn't replicate his five-hit performance. Sabathia and Jeter were teammates on the Yankees from 2009to 2014, winning one World Series together.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as CC Sabathia Told Funny Story About Superstitious Derek Jeter.
