New York Yankees Icon Confesses To The Legend Of ‘Golden Thong’
Baseball is a game full of superstitious players. From pre-game meals, musical choices and parking spots to the unapparent choice of undergarments, hitting streaks, scoreless innings and batting slumps have made Major League ballplayers do some pretty weird things to keep or change their luck. Just ask a New York Yankees legend and Hall of Famer.
Wednesday, on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Pinstripes' icon Derek Jeter confessed to a legend that has been looking for confirmation for a few years now. During a segment on Fallon's show called "True Confessions," the talk show host prompted #2 to confess, “I once wore a thong in public in front of thousands of people.” Jeter, after saying, "I'm going to regret playing this game..." explained the unusual underwear choice to Fallon and fellow guest, singer Rita Ora.
Jeter said that in 2002, a teammate that had a "gold thong" hanging in his locker and the teammate told Jeter "that anytime you struggle, you wear it and you get a hit." The Captain said he thought the guy was crazy. Things change when you are mired in an 0-32 slump at the plate. "In 2004 I went through the worst offensive stretch in my career,” Jeter explained the host and Ora. “Every day I’d walk in and he’d point at the thong...so finally, I caved in and wore the thong. Now it wasn't thong to skin. I wore shorts under it," the former Bronx Bomber said to laughter. Did the 'gold thong' work?
"First pitch home run," explained Jeter. But who was that mystery teammate with the slump-busting gold thong?
According to nypost.com reporter Nicholas McEntyre, former Yankees teammate Jason Giambi confessed to ownership of the undergarment to nj.com in 2015. “The golden thong is legendary. It’s never not gotten a hit,” Giambi explained. “It was his (Derek Jeter) first slump. I don’t think the guy’s ever slumped in his career. He’s unbelievable. You know, the gold thong, he had to get out of it." According to Jeter himself, the thong worked and the "Legend of the Golden Thong" will live in Yankees lore forever.