“The Goal Is to Win”- Derek Jeter Once Shed His Competitive Nature Despite Frenemy Alex Rodriguez’s $275 Million New York Yankees Move

Three years after young Alex Rodriguez passed some avoidable comments about his massive $250 million contract with the Texas Rangers and took a hit at Derek Jeter, the shortstop asked the Rangers to trade him. Eventually, the then-AL MVP arrived in New York, to play under friend-turned-foe, and captain of the New York Yankees, Derek Jeter.

Notably, A-Rod made his MLB debut with the Mariners as a shortstop. Even with the Texas Rangers, he played as a shortstop. However, after moving to the Pinstripes roster, A-Rod had to switch from his regular position at shortstop and move to third base. In an interview with Playboy from 2004, Captain Clutch was asked a question about the competitiveness that existed between him and A-Rod. To this, Jeter replied with an archetypal Jeter response.

The team always came first for Derek Jeter

After A-Rod reached New York in 2004, he had to compete with Derek Jeter, who had already established himself as one of the greatest defensive legends to play for the Bronx Bombers. At the same time, Jeter (whose notion of competitiveness is spoken about even today) didn’t believe in the existence of competition between teammates.

When asked about competing with A-Rod, Jeter instantly dropped his competitive nature and spoke about the ill requirement to compete with a teammate. He said, “Well, we’re on the same team, so we really don’t have anything to compete for. We’re playing a team sport, right?”

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The next question Jeter received was pertaining to his batting-average, and whether he would compete with A-Rod to attain a higher average. Jeter’s response explained his entire persona. The five-time World Champion said, “No. I don’t go into a season saying I want to bat higher than any one of my teammates. That’s not a goal. The goal is to win.”

How did the Jeter-Rodriguez beef begin?

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez started off as pretty close friends. However, the incident from 2000 stained their dynamic forever. After A-Rod signed a gigantic contract with the Texas Rangers, he spoke about how no one, including Derek Jeter, had the ability to bag a contract of such significant value. This comment was the starting of a topsy-turvy relationship between the two shortstops.

While unsaid, the beef between the two Yankees greats was bound to play a role in their individual performances, and their performances as a team. During the 10 seasons they played together, they won only one World Championship.

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Would that have changed had the duo resolved their internal problems before? What do you think?