From 1996 to 2014, Derek Jeter was the New York Yankees‘ starting shortstop. After the legend retired, the Yankees have shuffled through various shortstops, including Didi Gregorius, Gleyber Torres, Starlin Castro and Anthony Volpe.
Now, 21-year-old George Lombard Jr. is handling the starting shortstop role for New York.
The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty recently wrote a fascinating piece about a private breakfast between Jeter and Lombard. I highly recommend reading it.
New York Yankees’ George Lombard Jr. Makes Derek Jeter Statement Amid Minnesota Twins Series
Lombard said Jeter is “humble and down to earth.” Lombard also said Jeter told him to be a “stand-up dude.”
“Whether that’s in the clubhouse or with the media or the fans, whatever it is. Be authentic and be a good person. It goes a long way, doing those little things. Whether that’s always being upfront and honest or remembering people’s names. Just being an overall good human being. It keeps you grounded and keeps you humble and it allows you to keep doing the stuff on the field and producing on the field and helping out the team wherever you can, while keeping all the unnecessary distractions away.”
Read More: Inside George Lombard Jr.’s private breakfast with Yankees legend Derek Jeter
MLB Pipeline has Lombard ranked as the No. 13 overall prospect in baseball.
Since being promoted to the majors on Aug. 4, Lombard has slashed .218/.279/.345 with three home runs and 11 RBI over 32 games.
New York Yankees Right Now
The Yankees clinched a postseason berth with the Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.
Shortly after clinching, New York defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-3 at Target Field. The Yankees celebrated in the visitors’ clubhouse.
The Yankees are the first AL Wild Card team with an 87-63 record. They have a five-game lead over the Boston Red Sox, the second AL Wild Card team.
In the AL East standings, New York is 3 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place.
Game 2 of the three-game series between the Twins and Yankees at Target Field is scheduled to begin at 7:40 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
New York Yankees’ George Lombard Jr. Makes Derek Jeter Statement