TAMPA — Jeter Downs has answered questions about his first name for as long as he can remember.
But this year is the first time he’s doing so while playing for the same organization as his namesake.
“I always rooted for the Yankees growing up,’’ the 25-year-old said recently at his first Yankees camp. “No surprise there. When I played for the Red Sox, I rooted against them a little bit. But I always admired them, so to finally put on the pinstripes has been pretty cool. It’s more than I expected. These pinstripes feel a little bit different.”
Downs was named after Derek Jeter in 1998, two years after the shortstop came up to the Yankees for good.
