Derek Jeter lets the world know everything is in order with Alex Rodriguez. During a recent Good Day New York appearance, the 48-year-old MLB Hall of Famer said he and Rodriguez began talking while filming the new ESPN documentary The Captain.
“There is no wedge. Everything’s good,” said Jeter, as reported by People. “I know people; to this day, when I go places, it’s one of the first things they ask me about. There are no issues between Alex and I at all.”
© GettyImagesIn the documentary, Derek opens up about his friendship with Rodriguez and how they went separate ways after a 2001 Esquire interview with Alex. Although the retired baseball player said they had no rivalry, he said things about his leadership abilities.
“No, there’s not a rivalry at all. Not even, I mean rivalry? Like, ours is such a brotherhood that there’s definitely no rivalry there. And it’s weird because even with my brother [we] have a little rivalry,” Rodriguez replied. “But with Derek, I’m his biggest fan, and I think it’s vice versa.”
© GettyImagesRodriguez said Jeter never had to lead because everyone on the team was great, “He’s reserved, quiet,” Rodriguez said. “Jeter’s been blessed with great talent around him,” he said, referring to his Yankees teammates. “So he’s never had to lead. He doesn’t have to; he can just go and play and have fun and hit second. I mean, you know, hitting second is totally different than hitting third or fourth in a lineup because you go into New York trying to stop Bernie [Williams] and [Paul] O’Neill and everybody. You never say, ‘Don’t let Derek beat you.’ That’s never your concern.”
Jeter didn’t like Rodriguez’s comments; therefore, he decided to keep his distance. “As a friend, I’m loyal,” he said in the ESPN documentary. “I just looked at it as ‘I wouldn’t have done it.’”
“You can say whatever you want about me as a player. That’s fine,” Jeter added. “But then it goes back to the trust, the loyalty. This is how the guy feels. He’s not a true friend, is how I felt. Because I wouldn’t do it to a friend.”
Rodriguez also said he “immediately called” Jeter to apologize. “When that came out, I felt really bad about it,” he explained. “I saw the way it was playing out. The way it was written, I absolutely said exactly what I said. It was a comment that I stand behind today. It was a complete tsunami. It was one of the greatest teams ever. To say that you don’t have to focus on just one player is totally fair.”
