MLB and WWE have crossed paths plenty of times — from “The Miz” throwing first pitches to Roman Reigns being dubbed “The Tribal Chief.” But the crossover was unintentionally hilarious this time, thanks to future WWE Hall of Famer Sheamus and MLB legend Derek Jeter.
When WWE’s “Celtic Warrior”, Sheamus (or Stephen Farrelly) — so nicknamed due to his integration of traditional Irish warrior heritage into his wrestling style — first arrived in the U.S., he wasn’t exactly brushed up on American baseball icons. So, when he bumped into “Mr. November” himself, he had no idea who he was meeting!
Sheamus talked about the moment with Chris Van Vliet on Insight LIVE. When Chris Van Vliet shared the conversation on his Instagram account, it left everyone laughing. Sheamus explained his encounter, “I SAID, ‘HEY, I’M SHEAMUS, AND YOU ARE?” HE GOES. “DEREK.” “NICE TO MEET YOU, DEREK.” SO HE WALKS OFF. NIKKI [BELLAI COMES UP TO ME, SHE GOES, OH, MY GOD SHEAMUS. WHY DID YOU DO THAT? L…J THAT’S DEREK JETER FROM THE YANKEES! SHE WAS FURIOUS WITH ME BECAUSE SHE SAID I MADE HER LOOK STUPID. I DON’T KNOW WHO HE WAS. I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BASEBALL.”
It’s not hard to figure out how this happened. Derek Jeter is a Hall of Famer, a 14-time All-Star, and a 5-time World Series champion — and is also a poster boy for baseball glory. Sheamus, who hails from Ireland, isn’t aware of much about the other American sports and even personalities.
In the same interview, he revealed that he wasn’t even aware of “who Mark Cuban was. I’m serious, I didn’t. I only came over from Ireland a couple of years ago.” It makes sense now, but fast forward to know he said, “Now I’m more invested in American sports; I watch basketball and watch American football, and baseball.”
It’s interesting that Sheamus isn’t the first person to unintentionally run across baseball royalty and didn’t recognize him. Derek Jeter had encountered something like this way back in 2015.
The Captain was just another face in the Sumo crowd
When Jeter went to Japan in 2015 to see the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka with Hideki Matsui. He encountered a very similar situation that happened with Sheamus.
Derek Jeter, who was in town for a charity game with Hideki Matsui, chose to go to the Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka. But it turns out that The Captain isn’t always recognized right away, even in a country that loves baseball.
Chiyomaru, the 16th-ranked maegashira, shook Jeter’s hand pleasantly. It wasn’t a huge thing. Then he told reporters, “I didn’t realize who it was.” “You have to tell me earlier.”
Meanwhile, top-ranked maegashira Tochiozan had a better idea—he knew Jeter was “a ballplayer,” but his recollection wasn’t perfect. He asked with a straight face, “He was a catcher or something like that, wasn’t he?” That’s one way to get the situation wrong and still be kind of right.
It’s a funny reminder that not everyone knows about famous people. Even icons like Derek Jeter can go unnoticed when they enter a whole other sport. How about you? Have you ever accidentally ignored a famous person or had no idea that a famous person was right next to you?
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