Because Alex Rodriguez was “not a true buddy,” as the retired Yankees captain has finally admitted, Derek Jeter’s public relationship with A-Rod fell apart in 2001.
The 48-year-old Jeter referred to a decades-old Esquire profile of Rodriguez, who had just left the Seattle Mariners to sign what at the time was the largest contract in sports history with the Texas Rangers (10 years, $252 million), while speaking to ESPN as part of a seven-part docuseries on his life titled “The Captain.”
The two shortstops, who made their debuts in consecutive seasons in the middle of the 1990s to widespread acclaim, were frequently contrasted with one another up until that point.
The two All-Stars rapidly grew close, socializing together and occasionally staying at each other’s apartments, but there was no rivalry between them.
When Rodriguez was questioned about Jeter in 2001—the year the former had won four World Series titles to the latter’s zero—everything changed.
Rodriguez praised the Yankees’ power hitters and said of Jeter, “Jeter’s been fortunate with terrific talent surrounding him.”
So, he’s never had to take the lead. He is not required to; he is free to hit second while playing and having fun.
I mean, you go into New York trying to stop Bernie [Williams] and [Paul] O’Neill and everyone, so hitting second is entirely different from hitting third or fourth in a lineup. ‘Don’t let Derek defeat you,’ you never say. That is never a matter for you.
At the time, Rodriguez called their bond a “brotherhood,” adding that “there’s definitely no competitiveness there.”
Rodriguez remarked, “With Derek, I’m his biggest fan and I think it goes both ways.”
Famously forming a team in New York in 2004, Jeter and Rodriguez eventually shared a championship in 2009.
But as Jeter said in the ESPN documentary series, that 2001 Esquire article irreparably shook their bond.
According to Jeter, “Those statements affected me because, as I said, I’m very, very loyal.” I’m a dependable friend. I simply thought, “I wouldn’t have done it.”
The media then became involved. the relentless hammering of the nail. They just persisted in pushing it in.
I was frustrated because it just turned into noise. All I hear is noise.”
Although he expressed regret for the remarks to ESPN, Rodriguez also stood by the quote from when he was 21.
A-Rod admitted, “When that got out, I felt pretty horrible about it.” I could see how it was developing. I definitely said what I said, exactly as it was written.
I still stand by the statement I made at the time. A complete tsunami struck.
One of the greatest teams in history, it was. It’s entirely fair to claim that you don’t have to concentrate on a single individual.
Rodriguez compared Jeter’s circumstance in New York to his own in Seattle, where he was surrounded by All-Stars Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner as well as Ken Griffey Jr., a potential future Hall of Famer.
Rodriguez continued, “By the way, the same could be said about my team, the Mariners.
We had Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, and Ken Griffey Jr. If that were said about me, I would respond, “No s***.” Absolutely. You shouldn’t only be concerned with me,
In an interview with ESPN, Rodriguez emphasized that the phrase was meant to describe the depth of the Yankees’ lineup at the time.
“I said exactly what I said, just as it was written,” the author added. Again, I believe that was a statement I still support today.
It was a whole tsunami, [the Yankees were] one of the greatest teams ever, and I believe it’s perfectly fair to say that you can’t just concentrate on one person,’ Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez continued, “Look, I feel you guys have a tsunami. It’s a wonderful squad, it wasn’t stated to hurt you, penalize you or slight you in any way. We sat on his couch and spoke for about an hour.”
Jeter claimed to have “believed” Rodriguez’s apology and to have found it to be “extremely heartfelt,” despite the fact that he claimed A-Rod had wronged him in another situation a year prior.
Since Jeter “simply doesn’t do the power statistics and defensively he doesn’t do all those things,” Rodriguez claimed on The Dan Patrick Show in 2000, he didn’t believe Jeter would break his then-record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers.
In the documentary “The Dan Patrick interview,” Jeter said that Patrick was comparing me to him on the field.
In my opinion, he was given his contract, so why are you trying to downplay what I’m doing, perhaps to explain why you were compensated?
Jeter continued, “I’m not blind,” and that his statistics “never compared to Alex’s records.” I comprehend. But we prevailed.
Despite the fact that Rodriguez has now acknowledged taking performance-enhancing drugs between 2001 and 2003 and that he was later suspended for the 2014 season due to steroid use, his numbers still much outweigh Jeter’s.
Jeter had an impressive.310 average with significantly less power than A-Rod, who concluded his career with 696 home runs (fourth all-time), a.295 batting average, and a monstrous.
550 slugging percentage (260 homers and a .440 slugging percentage).
However, Jeter did assist the Yankees in their first World Series victory in 18 years in 1996.
He would go on to guide the team to three straight victories from 1998 to 2000 before joining forces with A-Rod to win a second championship in 2009.
You are free to criticize me as a player all you want; but, the issue still revolves around loyalty and trust.
I had the impression that the guy felt the same way and wasn’t a genuine buddy. Jeter clarified, “Because I wouldn’t do it to a friend.
Rodriguez said that he was once a part of Jeter’s “circle of trust,” but that the things he said that Jeter found offensive “broke the trust.”
And I believe that it was never quite the same again after that. Rodriguez acknowledged, “I think it’s basically [me] not understanding how things work.
In many respects, he continued, “my father leaving when I was 10 years old, not receiving the education at home, and the tough love caused insecurity, some self image issues, and as I got older, I learned all you gotta be is be yourself.”
They were both inexperienced and made mistakes, but Jeter continued, “I’m still going to be friendly.” However, you went too far, and I won’t let you in again.