Twitter has become ubiquitous among athletes both current and former, but one holdout loomed large: Derek Jeter. On Tuesday, however, the New York Yankees legend joined the social media platform with a hilarious nod to his offline past.
For his first words on Twitter, Jeter quote-tweeted a post from December 2014 that read, "Derek Jeter has no excuse not to have a Twitter account by now." Jeter responded, "Looks like I've officially run out of excuses" on Tuesday morning – nearly seven and a half years after the original post.
Looks like I’ve officially run out of excuses. https://t.co/DQwmgjU9jW
— Derek Jeter (@derekjeter) May 31, 2022
While Jeter is a late arrival to Twitter, he made up for lost time with a flurry of tweets his first morning on the platform. Jeter revealed the R&B singer Ralph Tresvant was an inspiration for one of his childhood haircuts, retweeted welcome messages from former Yankees teammates Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia and and answered fans' tweets in a video.
It’s my hair but it’s a shag… a Ralph Tresvant shag. https://t.co/M55MMeyBVk
— Derek Jeter (@derekjeter) May 31, 2022
Hey @markwahlberg, let me know if you need an extra in the next movie. #FanTweets @Twitter @TwitterSports pic.twitter.com/eqWff5C5bi
— Derek Jeter (@derekjeter) May 31, 2022
Jeter, a Baseball Hall of Famer and five-time World Series Champion, didn't stop at Twitter. He created an Instagram account the same morning, and his first post previewed the content followers should expect. The 47-year-old said he'll be posting about his nonprofit Turn 2 Foundation, his home life in Miami and more.
To end the video, though, Jeter made a request he'll soon learn is quite difficult online.
"Take it easy on me," Jeter said. "I'm new to this."
Jeter stepped down as CEO of the Miami Marlins – a role he held since 2017 – before the season, so perhaps social media will help pass the time. Fans are clearly ready for Jeter to make the online jump, as over 123,000 have followed him on Twitter in less than a day.
