Don Mattingly, No. 23, and Derek Jeter, No. 2, were in the outfield shagging fly balls toward the end of another batting practice.

Mattingly had watched Jeter move through the Yankee farm system and knew that he was, at least according to plans, his heir apparent. For one thing, it was kind of common knowledge that the Yankee brass was hesitant to assign most ballplayers single-digit numbers. This sounds silly, but when you consider that the Yankees are one of the few teams who refuse to stitch their player's names to their jerseys, it adds significance. Many Yankee greats have worn the single digits: Billy Martin (1), Babe Ruth (3), Gehrig (4), Dimaggio (5), Mantle (7), Berra and Dickey (8), Nettles and Maris (9).

It's also worth noting that two single-digit pinstripers are enshrined in the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown but not Monument Park in Yankee Stadium: Earle Combes (1) and Tony Lazzeri (2). Combes was a notorious racist and that, no doubt, has made it easy to forget his high-caliber statistics. Lazzeri, however, was one of the city's most popular players during his era, and when Jeter's number is retired, here's hoping the Yankees do right by the man.

And, of course, who could forget the legendary career of Rick Cerone (6), who for several days in the early '80s was one of America's favorite Yankees.

More Yankee lore: Mattingly was the face of Yankee baseball (no matter how much Dave Winfield protested) during the '80s and was rightfully awarded the title of "captain." Along with Mattingly, Willie Randolph and Ron Guidry donned the black "C" on their uniform, legends who had succeeded slick fielding and timely hitting Graig Nettles in that regard. Nettles himself had succeeded Thurman Munson, who was the first Yankee captain since the passing of Lou Gehrig in 1939.

Before I drown this column in numbers, back to the story ...

So Mattingly and Jeter finish working out, and they're basically the last to leave the field. A man of few words (most of the time anyway), Jeter defers to Mattingly, and as they begin to walk toward the clubhouse, legend has it, Mattingly says to Jeter, "Let's run off the field ... you never know who's watching."

A week before the All-Star game, Jeter sealed his own Hall of Fame and Yankee legend history by homering for his 3,000th hit.

As insignificant as that story may seem, Jeter would go onto say that the moment with Mattingly coming off the field meant a lot to him. When he was named captain of the Yankees years after Mattingly's retirement, he invoked his name as someone he looked up to and respected.

Last week, Mattingly returned the favor.

"He put himself right there with all the greats, guys like Joe D., the Mick and Babe," Mattingly told The New York Post. "He's a great person. He's won. He's won individual stuff, but he's won championships.

"He's a great story."