Jeter honored to have No. 2 retired

NEW YORK — A little girl walked up to Derek Jeter on Wednesday morning and told him without hesitation, “My mommy said you were her favorite player.” He smiled at her, handed her a stuffed backpack as a holiday gift, and replied, “Tell your mommy I said thanks.”

Just wait until Mother’s Day next year.

There will be a lot of those memories, a lot of tears, a lot of smiles, a lot of swoons and a lot of “thanks” for being the most prominent face of baseball over a generation. On that day, May 14, the Yankees will retire the iconic No. 2 jersey and add Jeter’s plaque to Monument Park.

• R-E-2-P-E-C-T: Jeter’s No. 2 to be retired May 14

Before surprising more than 200 children from across the five boroughs as part of his Turn 2 Foundation’s annual Holiday Express event, Jeter — in classic humility — talked about what the Mother’s Day event will mean. He harkened back to 1996, when he was inspired by Dave Winfield to start his foundation and when all he wanted to do was build a career.

“Yes, it’s pretty special,” Jeter said at the Chelsea Piers Fieldhouse, talking about the ceremony plans. “My dream was always to play shortstop for the Yankees. Everything that came along with it wasn’t a part of the dream. When I first came up in ’96, my goal was just to stay here as long as possible. I never thought about having a number retired or anything.

“It’s kind of hard to believe. I was asked this question last night, and I have no idea. Just sort of going into it and see what happens. But it’s a huge honor.”

Jeter will become the sixth uniformed member of the last Yankees dynasty to have his jersey retired. In 2013, Mariano Rivera’s No. 42 was retired. Joe Torre (No. 6) was retired in ’14, and then there was the trio of Bernie Williams (No. 51), Jorge Posada (No. 20) and Andy Pettitte (No. 46) in ’15. This past August, there was also a plaque ceremony for Rivera.

After being through so many of those ceremonies as either a player or a distinguished guest, Jeter knows well enough what the moment is like. But when asked if being around his buddies then would help his 2017 speech, he shook his head and said, “I wasn’t listening to what they were saying out there. I was just messing around.”

Seriously, there is only one Jeter. Remember, he already has given one famous speech in Yankee Stadium history: the last one at the old ballpark. It was not a prepared speech. He would prefer to emulate moments like that, to simply let the moment come to him. Who else could have scripted the kind of game-winning hit in his final at-bat at the Stadium?

“I don’t want to be prepared for it,” he said of the jersey retirement …

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