“What Initially Upset Me..”: Derek Jeter Once Revealed How the New York Yankees Deeply Upset Him With a Poor Tactic

Over the last two decades, Derek Jeter has become a fixture in the baseball world. A New York Yankees icon, the Jeter name is practically inseparable from the Bronx. Ever since he was a kid, the former shortstop had wanted to play in pinstripes. Then in the 1990s, he got the opportunity of a lifetime. But little more than a decade later, for the first time ever, his position was in danger.

Jeter was notorious for his interactions with the media, which usually consisted of solely talking about baseball. The Hall of Famer had never been comfortable with talking publicly about private matters. So, when his future was looking murky in 2010, one particular instance left him feeling rather sore with his team.

The New York Yankees making contract negotiations public greatly upset Derek Jeter

When the former shortstop was set to hit free agency for the first time in his career after 2010, the front office had some discussions with Jeter. It had not been his best season and the ex-shortstop was being judged based on that. Still, he wanted to keep all the conversations behind closed doors, but that is not what happened.

In his ESPN docuseries, The Captain, Jeter spoke of that instance. “I said, ‘The only thing that I ask is that it stays private,'” he told the camera. Except it didn’t stay that way. The episode went on to play a clip from 2010 where the reporter said, “The negotiations with the Yankees are playing out quite publicly and it’s kind of an odd thing to witness.”

And 2022’s Jeter’s response was, “What initially upset me had nothing to do with what contract they thought I was worth. It was the fact that I said I wanna keep it private and a couple days later, it became public.”

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Jeter is someone who had a reputation for his tight-lipped interactions with reporters. After all his insistence on privacy, no wonder the situation angered the Captain.

Jeter had always wanted to be with the Yankees

A kid from Kalamazoo, Jeter was wholly dedicated to one passion – baseball. He had always wanted to be in the Bronx and he fulfilled that dream. Even when his future was uncertain, he stayed firm.

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In the docuseries, he spoke of when the 2010 fiasco began, “Me and my agent Casey went to Hal Steinbrenner’s house and it was Hal and Cashman and Randy Levine. And I said, ‘Look, Hal, I wanna tell you – this is where I wanna be. I don’t wanna go anywhere.’ I said, ‘I’ve told Casey, if any other team calls, tell them I’m not interested because this is where I wanna be.'”

After all the drama was over, fortunately, fans got to see their Captain play in Pinstripes until his retirement.