"I could play for another five years" - When Yankees icon Derek Jeter imagined extending MLB career with Jimmy Fallon's energy boost

Former New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter retired from baseball when he played his last game against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 28, 2014. Interestingly, he hit a walk-off hit against Evan Meek for a 6-5 win.

A month later, Jeter appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about his retirement, his final game-winning hit and his Hall of Fame resume. Fallon asked Jeter to sign some of his baseball collection, which included a pair of sneakers and a black-and-white photo of Derek Jeter, among others.

The energy of Jimmy Fallon on the show made Jeter say:

"If I had the energy of Jimmy, I could play for another five years."

Derek Jeter admits why he didn't want to have kids during his playing career

Until his retirement in 2014, Derek Jeter never thought about having a family, as he was too busy bashing pitchers at the plate. It was only after he put a stop to his 20-year career with the Yankees that he decided to marry his partner, Hannah Jeter, in 2016.

Recently, in an interaction with Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson on the "Calm Down" podcast, Jeter mentioned the reason why he didn't marry during his playing days.

"I’ll be honest with you. There is no way I could have had kids during my career," the former shortstop said. "I just, I couldn’t have done it. I was way, way, way too selfish. I was all about my career."

Adding more to it, he said that being a parent means you have to devote your time to your child, which he couldn't have done while playing baseball at the same time. He cited his parents as a perfect example, saying they were 'always present.'

"The one thing I can say about my parents is: They were always present. It’s so hard when you have kids — I don’t care if it’s one kid; I have four kids — you want to be there, and then when you miss a day or two, you come back, and they completely change," Jeter said.

The Jeter family has now expanded to six, including three daughters and a son.