Derek Jeter Confirms Rumor About Wearing Lucky Gold Thong To Improve His Game

“I erstwhile wore a thong successful nationalist successful beforehand of thousands of people,” Derek Jeter admitted during the Thursday (Feb. 2) variation of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Derek, 48, joined big Jimmy Fallon and impermanent Rita Ora connected “True Confessionals.” Though the others didn’t judge it astatine archetypal – “You’re Derek Jeter. We would’ve known,” said Jimmy — the erstwhile New York Yankees subordinate yet owned up to the rumor lingering astir his down for decades.

“I’m going to yet regret playing this game, but fto maine explain,” said Jeter. “I had a caller teammate that I played with successful 2002, and helium ever had a golden thong hanging from his locker. And helium told me, ‘Anytime you struggle, you deterioration the golden thong, you’re guaranteed to get a hit.’ Now, I thought the feline was crazy. So, successful 2004, I went done the worst violative agelong successful my career. And each time I’d locomotion in, he’d constituent astatine the thong. Now, finally, I wore the thong.”

“Now, it wasn’t thong-to-skin,” helium clarified. “I had shorts connected underneath, truthful I enactment the thong connected implicit the shorts. First pitch, location run.”

Justin Lane/EPA/Shutterstock

This is not the archetypal clip that Jeter has confirmed this communicative (“Golden Thong Gate?”). He spoke astir it successful a 2008 communicative with The New York Daily News. The thong belonged to Jason Giambi, who told the Daily News that “it works each time” aft different work shone the spotlight connected his underwear. “I had it implicit my shorts and stuff,” Jeter said. “I was 0-for-32, and I deed a homer connected the archetypal pitch. That’s the lone clip I’ve ever worn it.”

His teammate, Johnny Damon, besides admitted to wearing the thong “probably 3 times” and, astatine the time, was batting .255.  “I whitethorn request to deterioration it again soon,” helium added. When asked what makes the thong truthful magical, Damon said, “You’re not worrying astir your hands oregon your equilibrium astatine the plate. You’re disquieted astir the uncomfortable feeling you’re receiving.”

The Daily News decided to assistance retired the Yankees by delivering 26 aureate thongs to the clubhouse truthful that each subordinate – and then-manager Joe Girardi – could deterioration one.

(Todd Owyoung/NBC)

“The aureate thong is legendary. It’s ne'er not gotten a hit,” Giambi told NJ.com successful 2015. “Well, it was just, you know, it was his archetypal slump. I don’t deliberation the guy’s ever slumped successful his career. He’s unbelievable. You know, the golden thong, helium had to get retired of it. … I would sometimes enactment it successful their locker. I would sometimes commencement mentioning I’m going to springiness a golden thong if you don’t get retired of this slump. Sometimes I would interruption it retired due to the fact that they didn’t privation to deterioration the golden thong. And astir of the time, it conscionable ended up successful their locker. And anybody who’s worn it has gotten a hit.”

It’s chartless whether oregon not the thong remains successful the Yankees Clubhouse. Giambi, 52, retired successful 2015 (about 8 years aft admitting helium utilized much than a aureate thong during his shot career.) Jeter retired successful 2014 and has since committed to being a miss dada to his 3 daughters.

Click to Subscribe to Get Our Free HollywoodLife Daily Newsletter to get the hottest celeb news.