“I Looked Up to Derek Because..”- Alex Rodriguez’s Honest Derek Jeter Admission Defied Their Shaky Relationship 17 Years After Bitter 2001 Incident

Looking back at Yankees icon Alex Rodriguez‘s career, from getting drafted by the Mariners at the age of 18 to retiring after 696 home runs, he has come a long way. While making all this happen, Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez learned from quite a few people who he used to look up to. While it may not be believable now, A-Rod, at a time, used to look up to the Hall of Famer Derek Jeter.

Jeter and Rodriguez have quite a long history of rivalry that started over two decades ago. But it wasn’t the case before the year 2000. Before that, they were best friends who used to get teased about being each other’s better half. Then, in 2018, in an interview with Marvin R. Shanken, A-Rod talked about how long he has known the Hall of Famer. He also talked about how did he get to know Jeter. 

What did Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez say about Derek Jeter?

From being best friends to having multiple feuds between them to again having a stable relationship, both A-Rod and Jeter have come a longish way. They might not be as good friends as they were back in the 90s, but they are not the people who cannot be left alone in a room either. 

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While talking about the five times World Series winner, Rodriguez said, “I’ve known Derek since we were 15 years old. I remember he came to a University of Miami game. He had signed with Michigan. I looked up to Derek because he was one year ahead of me. He bypassed the University of Michigan, of course, became a Yankee, then a five-time world champion, and the rest is history.”

Their friendship is something that gets talked about to this day. Because it was not easy on any of the two players. And it wasn’t easy for fans to watch two of the best Yankees not being on the same page either. 

What happened in 2001?

It was the year when the feud between the two former players started. A-Rod had just signed the biggest contract in baseball’s history with the Rangers. He was asked about the person he thought could break his contract value. And out of nowhere, he said that it can be anybody but Jeter. It is where it all started and the rest is history.

Back when Derek Jeter was promoting his documentary, ‘The Captain,’ he made appearances on various shows. One such show where he went on the ‘Kay-Rod’ podcast hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay. There, the former third baseman revisited the chapter of his life where he made a mistake with Jeter. He said that one regret is not having a close bond with Jeter as it once was during their teenage days. 

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Do you think they will ever get back to the place they were with their friendship? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.