Former Yankees slugger’s Derek Jeter pizza story explains Red Sox rivalry perfectly

You think you know how intense the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry was? You don’t — not until you hear the pizza story.

In one of the most entertaining moments from TNT’s pregame show on Tuesday, former Yankees slugger Curtis Granderson dropped an anecdote about Derek Jeter that perfectly captures just how all-consuming this rivalry was for the players living inside it.

And host Lauren Shehadi, alongside former Red Sox ace Pedro Martínez and Phillies legend Jimmy Rollins, made sure the story got its full due.

It started simply enough. Granderson was reflecting on what it was like to join the Yankees and suddenly be immersed in the most intense rivalry in baseball.

The fans, the pressure, the expectations — they don’t just exist inside the stadium. It bleeds into everyday life in a way that’s hard to fully appreciate unless you’ve been there.

Then came the kicker.

“Jeter orders a pizza for delivery,” Granderson recalls, via YouTube. “They spell in pepperoni ‘Go Pedro’ on his pizza.”

This wasn’t a stadium chant. This wasn’t a banner waving in the bleachers.

This was a man’s dinner delivery being turned into a piece of Red Sox propaganda. In New York. To the face of the Yankees franchise.

Martínez asked the only question that truly mattered in that moment: Did Jeter eat the pizza?

“He looked at it. He said it looked good. I’m not sure if I’m going to touch this one right here,” Granderson said.