Derek Jeter enjoyed his time with the Yankees, but the Captain, who is facing his former team in a two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday, told YES’ Meredith Marakovits he has turned his focus toward being CEO of the Marlins.
Jeter also said his time with the Yankees has given him a model for what he wants the Marlins to become.
“[It] seems like it’s been 10 years, it’s been a learning experience for me,” Jeter said in the interview. “I was very fortunate to play a 20-year career with a first-class organization, and in my mind the Yankees are the gold standard for what you want to be as an organization. I tried to do my part as a player over 20 years to work hard, obviously be dedicated, to do my small part and to help on the field.
“And now coming here, I’m working for a new organization now and with ownership and a CEO position, I want to do the same thing. And it’s going to take time, it’s going to take hard work but the effort I put in on the field, I’ll do here in the front office as well.”
Jeter, a first-time owner, said he has sought advice from owners in baseball and other sports.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of different sports owners not only in baseball but in other sports as well, and they say regardless of what business you come from it takes some time to get your feet on the ground, so it’s learning experience,” he said. “It will take us some time to get us where we want to be but we have high expectations and we are willing to put the work in.”
Though Jeter is fully engaged with the Marlins, he said he never will stop being a Yankee.
“I haven’t turned the page, you know I will always be a New York Yankee and I played 20 years and that’s a part of my life that is as good as it gets,” he said. “I will always be a New York Yankee. I will always be the captain of the team. I enjoy Yankees fans, they have been great to me my entire career and even in retirement.”
Jeter also said he now has a greater appreciation on what goes on behind the scenes of a baseball organization.
“I mean it’s a lot of hard work, it’s long days,” he said. “I think as a player you don’t really notice or recognize all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and all the work that goes on in the front office to make sure the players are in a position to succeed, so you know I have made it a point to make our players aware of all the hard work that goes on here in the front office, but it’s long days, long nights, but you know that’s what you expect.”
Jeter was unable to attend the ceremony Saturday where the Yankees honored the 1998 World Series-winning team because he was celebrating the first birthday of his daughter, Belle Raine.
“I think you know the first birthday party is more for the mother than it is the baby, because I don’t really know how much she is going to remember,” he said. “But it was great, we had family and friends in town, so it’s unfortunate because I had a lot of great memories with that team in ‘98, spoken to a lot of them, wish I could have been there, but I [have] some priorities here in Miami.”
Though Jeter is stressing patience in this Marlins rebuild, he’s finding it difficult to practice what he is preaching.
“You know I have been preaching to everyone here in Miami to have patience, but I’m finding out that I don’t really have much patience,” he said. “But as soon as possible, we want to build things the right way, it’s going to take some time, there’s a lot of change. Look, you know I think change makes people feel uncomfortable, but in this particular situation, it was necessary. So it will take us some time.
“But we like to get there as soon as we can.”
