Twenty-five years ago today — October 13, 2001 — Derek Jeter sprinted 110 feet out of his position to intercept an overthrown ball and flip it backhand to Jorge Posada, saving the Yankees from elimination against Oakland. It became the most iconic play in modern postseason history. And it came with a catch: the umpire who called the out later told the Athletics‘ manager that if Jeremy Giambi had slid, he would have been safe.
How Jeter Ended Up Where He Had No Business Being
The Yankees arrived at Game 3 in Oakland with their backs against the wall — down 0-2 in the series, one loss from going home. Mike Mussina had been dominant through 6⅔ scoreless innings, and the only run on the board was a solo home run by Jorge Posada off Barry Zito in the fifth. A 1-0 lead that felt like it could evaporate at any moment.
In the bottom of the seventh, with two outs, Terrence Long ripped a ball down the right-field line with Jeremy Giambi on first. Shane Spencer retrieved it but sailed his throw past both cutoff men — Alfonso Soriano and Tino Martinez — leaving the plate wide open.
Jeter had no technical reason to be anywhere near that play. A shortstop belongs on the other side of the diamond. But he ran from his position all the way to the first-base foul line — roughly 110 feet from where he should have been — caught the ball on the fly and released a no-look backhand flip to Posada. Umpire Kerwin Danley punched Giambi out.
The Yankees held the 1-0 lead, won the game, then won the next two as well to advance to the ALCS.
The Admission That Changes Everything
The debate over whether Giambi was truly out never fully died. Oakland manager Art Howe and several Athletics players insisted at the time that Giambi beat the tag. What fewer people remember is what happened after the game: Danley pulled Howe aside and told him privately, «If he slides, he’s safe.»
In 2001, there was no replay review. Danley called what he saw in real time, and that was enough for New York to move on. But the admission reframes the play: Jeter didn’t just do something extraordinary — he also needed Giambi to make the wrong decision. Giambi later explained that he simply didn’t want to slow down.
It wasn’t pure improvisation, either. Jeter and the Yankees always maintained that positioning the shortstop as a third cutoff man was part of their playbook. In 2014, manager Joe Girardi confirmed the club had formally incorporated it into spring training drills. What Jeter did that afternoon in Oakland was execute something he had practiced — it just caught everyone off guard that it would ever actually be needed.
What Came After the Flip
The Yankees won the next three games to complete the comeback against Oakland, swept the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS, and reached a World Series that stretched to Game 7. They lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks — so the flip play didn’t deliver a championship, just the chance to keep fighting.
ESPN called it «the most iconic, most brilliant play» of Jeter’s career, and it was a centerpiece of his Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech. Twenty-five years later, the image of Jeter sprinting toward the foul line remains the perfect snapshot of a player who understood baseball in ways the numbers never quite captured.
The anniversary rekindled the debate between Yankees and Athletics fans — some insisting it was a clean out, others arguing Giambi handed them the series. A quarter-century later, the argument is still going. The game never really ended.
