Generally, it’s believed that sportsmen are the most superstitious bunch. It isn’t something surprising when one looks at the kind of pressure that they’re in. However, the stories are still surprising, especially when they contain a huge player like Derek Jeter. That’s right, the New York Yankees captain too was a superstitious player and CC Sabathia got to take a close look at it.

Sabathia and Jeter were teammates during the Yankees’ 2009 World Series win. The two were perhaps the biggest leaders within the Bronx clubhouse then. However, it wasn’t just their leadership that created memorable moments, it was their friendship too. Now Sabathia has revealed an interesting soul food story of the duo that confirms to him that Jeter was quite superstitious.

During the debut episode of the 6-1-1 podcast, Sabathia was asked about a Jeter story. To this, the legendary pitcher revealed the time when the two went to Peachtree – a restaurant in Kansas City. “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,” Sabathia said. “Jeet wakes up, goes 5-for-5, five hits. But his stomach is hurting. He could barely run the bases. He’s hurting, bro.” 

Sabathia may have thought that Derek Jeter’s soul food interest was dead but then something surprising happened. The captain returned with a request. “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,’” Sabathia revealed. Jeter had started believing that it was the soul food that made him go 5-for-5 in the game! 

And Lo behold, the Yankees’ iconic duo was again sitting at Peachtree. The two had another feast but sadly Jeter didn’t replicate his past performance in the next game. So that was the end of that superstition but that doesn’t mean Jeter’s stories ended. Apart from superstition, Derek Jeter also believed in jinxes.

Derek Jeter’s hilarious strike-out jinx story 

Famous reporter Sweeny Murti once shared an interesting story of jinxing Derek Jeter. During his Bronx Backstories show, Murti revealed how Jeter hated anyone bringing up any stats, “even positive ones!” because he feared they’d jinx him. However, Murti learned that lesson the hard way in 2002 when he inadvertently became the cause of a jinx. 

Murti noticed that the New York Yankees captain hadn’t been struck out during the season’s initial week. He asked Jeter about who didn’t give him a clear answer. But then that very night against the Toronto Blue Jays, Captain Clutch struck out twice. And if that wasn’t enough, Jeter struck out three more times in the next game. “Man, I ain’t talking to you for a month!” Jeter said to Murti after the game. 

Hilariously after that, every time someone would bring up stats to Jeter, he would look straight at Murti. But the reporter had learned his lesson. Still, it is quite hilarious to see how even the most successful of players find themselves stuck in a superstitious loop. What do you? Is it merely a superstition or does it actually work?