Completely off base! Derek Jeter just lately shut down the rumors that there was any lingering rigidity between himself and former teammate Alex Rodriguez following their early 2000s feud.
“No, there isn’t any wedge. Every thing’s good,” Jeter, 48, advised Good Day New York throughout an interview on Thursday, July 28. “I do know individuals to today, after I go locations, that’s one of many first issues that they ask me about, however there are not any points between Alex and I in any respect.”
Hypothesis about rising rigidity between the previous Yankee shortstop and A-Rod, 47, started over 20 years in the past after the twosome had been signed to totally different Main League Baseball groups. Jeter, nevertheless, claims he was extra centered on his profession than feuding with a buddy.
“There have been issues that I stored personal. My job, being the captain of the Yankees, was to restrict distractions and with a purpose to restrict distractions, I do know typically I didn’t create a lot controversy,” he defined. “I talked about issues one time and that was the tip of it.”
Rumors of a rift between the athletes who had been pals within the minor leagues earlier than getting traded up, started in 2000 after Rodriguez signed a $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers — the largest one in historical past — and subsequently revealed that he didn’t consider Jeter would ever beat the monetary report.
“I don’t know who it’s going to be,” Rodriguez advised ESPN in December 2000. “The 252 goes to be laborious to interrupt due to my age and my expertise at such a younger age. Even a man like Derek, it’s going to be laborious for him to interrupt that as a result of he simply doesn’t do the facility numbers and defensively he doesn’t do all these issues.”
Tensions solely grew when Golden Glove Award winner made disparaging feedback about his lack of religion in Jeter’s management talents.
“Jeter’s been blessed with nice expertise round him. He’s by no means needed to lead. He can simply go and play and have enjoyable,” he advised Esquire in 2001, per The New York Occasions. “He hits second—that’s completely totally different than third or fourth in a lineup. You go into New York, you wanna cease Bernie and O’Neill. You by no means say, ‘Don’t let Derek beat you.’ He’s by no means your concern.”
Jeter responded by saying the feedback “bothered him” as a result of they questioned his unwavering loyalty — one thing he takes very significantly.
“These feedback bothered me as a result of, like I mentioned, I’m very, very loyal,” Jeter defined in his new docuseries, The Captain, per the New York Put up. “As a buddy, I’m loyal. I simply checked out it as, ‘I wouldn’t have carried out it.’ After which it was the media. The fixed hammer to the nail. They simply stored hammering it in. It simply grew to become noise, which pissed off me. Simply fixed noise.”
Nevertheless, lately, each former All-Stars are extra centered on their youngsters greater than anything. “I’m chasing my ladies round,” the New Jersey native advised Fox 5 New York about his daughters, Bella, 4, Story, 3, and River, 7 months, whom he shares with spouse Hannah Jeter. “Proper now, I’m actually centered on being there for them and making an attempt to assist them discover out what they’re keen about.”
Rodriguez, for his half, revealed that “life is nice” throughout a July episode of “The Martha Stewart Podcast,” including, that he’s “very lucky” to get up each morning grateful “for my well being [and] my stunning daughters,” whom he refers to as his “his biggest reward.” (Rodriguez shares daughters Natasha, 17, and Ella,14, with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis).
