Derek Jeter's Joe Torre story from 2001 World Series walk-off home run is incredible

The only thing -- the literal only good thing -- about watching the 2023 World Series take place in Arizona instead of the Bronx is that Derek Jeter, in his first full year with FOX's MLB coverage, has gotten a chance to relive his dramatic Mr. November home run, as well as Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius' similarly impactful shots.

The absurd parallels started in Game 1 of this year's Fall Classic, when George W. Bush threw out the first pitch in Texas, just as he did prior to Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, a few short weeks after the events of Sept. 11. In that game, Corey Seager (a lefty) tied the game in the ninth with a two-run blast (a la Tino), before Adolis García ended things with a carbon copy of Jeter's blast. Unfortunately (puke), Arizona shook all of the Yankees' greatest moments off and won the 2001 World Series anyway, so they've got some work to do if they want the parallels through time to continue.

After Game 4 of this year's World Series, FOX's MLB team gave Jeter a chance to relive his moment from 22 years prior. That contest represented the first MLB game played in the month of November in quite a while, something that's now commonplace because of shifting schedules and various expansions.

Because of that rarity, the Yankees hadn't seen a reason to extend manager Joe Torre's contract beyond the end of October, and planned to renegotiate in the offseason. That meant that -- technically -- Torre was a free agent when the clock struck midnight, just before Jeter's memorable blast.

The Hall of Famer shared following Tuesday's game that, instead of handing his bat to Don Zimmer before the at-bat, as was his custom, he gave it to Torre, asking the skipper to bless it with a hit during the final time he'd ever have to listen to him.

Derek Jeter's story of 2001 World Series Game 4 walkoff for Yankees is amazing

As it turns out, Torre stuck around for another six seasons in the Bronx before heading to Los Angeles, then eventually transitioning into a role in the MLB head office.

Regardless of which coach supplied them, there were always plenty of hits in Jeter's bats, no matter how cold the weather or how bright the spotlight. Torre gets credit for believing in Jeter prior to the 1996 season, empowering him through the years and, yes, sprinkling a little magic dust on his lumber before a November to remember.

The clutch opposite field smash, though? The propensity to do that was inside Jeter all along.