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All of the sights, sounds and memories revisited at Yankee Stadium for #JeterNight

By Eric Chesterton and Adrian Garro

Prior to the second game of the Yankees' Sunday doubleheader against the Astros, Derek Jeter joined 21 Yankees greats by having his number retired. To celebrate his career, former teammates and various others have all taken a couple moments away from thanking their mothers to pay their re2pect to Jeter.

Carlos Beltrán even plans to honor Jeter's legacy with a special glass of wine.

Even non-Yankees got in on the Jeter-appreciation action.

Giants reliever George Kontos, who began his career with the Yankees, shared a special memory of an exchange with Jeter as his toast: 

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I made my Major League Debut on Sept. 10, 2011 for the New York Yankees in Anaheim against the Angels. First batter I faced hit an infield pop up and Derek Jeter nestled under it and made the catch to end the inning. As I walked into the dugout and sat down, he came in and sat down right next to me, put the baseball in my glove and said "Welcome to the big leagues G. This is the same game you've played your whole life, just with a few more people in the stands. You deserve to be here so just keep doing everything that you have been to get here." Those words have always stuck with me and right then there was no one in the game I respected more than Derek Jeter. He took the time to say a few encouraging words to me when an icon in his position most definitely didn't have to. A lot has happened to me and my career since then, and I'm grateful for all of it; but that short moment is something I will always appreciate and will never forget. #ThanksCap #RE2PECT

A post shared by George Kontos (@g_kontos) on

And now, onto Jeter's special pregame ceremony, where he and wife Hannah dressed to the nines for the nines for the occasion:

At the Stadium, a truly lavish affair was in store for everybody in attendance or watching at home. Jeter himself unveiled his number retirement at Monument Park in center field:

Derek, Hannah, his sister and his nephew then enjoyed a golf cart ride from center field to the pitcher's mound area, where some of his old teammates (including Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, David Cone, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams and C.C. Sabathia) had gathered for the ceremony.

Reggie Jackson also made an appearance, as did current Marlins manager and a previous Yankee captain, Don Mattingly, via a video message on the Jumbotron.

There, Jeter and Hannah unveiled his plaque:

Lookin' good, Derek:

Before taking the microphone and addressing the stadium (and everybody watching at home):

And who better to toss out the ceremonial first pitch other than the Captain?

After his pitch, Jeter tossed the ball to a fan behind the dugout ... and that fan was Spike Lee:

As for the game itself, the Astros won, 10-7, on the strength of a six-run first inning punctuated by a grand slam from Alex Bregman -- who just so happens to wear No. 2 as a tribute to his childhood hero, Derek Jeter.
Enjoy the entire pregame ceremony below:

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