Derek Jeter drilled by Bryant Gumbel on Miami Marlins tank-job, then things got interesting
Miami Marlins co-owner and former New Yankees legend Derek Jeter joined Bryant Gumbel on his HBO show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, where things heated up quickly.
Remember the good old days, when Derek Jeter was known for being a legend on the field and not a joke off of it? Yeah, I miss those days, too. Now, Derek Jeter is co-owner of the Miami Marlins, where he has much explaining to do.
This time last season, the Miami Marlins boasted the most promising, youthful roster in all of MLB, with loads of talent from top to bottom. Now, the team is in full firesale mode, trading away all of its assets — seemingly just giving them away.
The Miami Marlins are looking to start over, but are they doing things the right way? Is Derek Jeter, his co-owner Bruce Sherman, and the Miami Marlins organization tanking to acquire higher draft picks?
Recently, “Marlins Man” wanted answers on this and number of other touchy matters involving his beloved team, where he traveled to the ends of the earth in doing so.
Marlins Man is the least of Derek Jeter’s worries, with Bryant Gumbel putting him on the hot seat in a recent interview on his show, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel — where things heated up in a New York minute. The Miami Herald provides us with a bit of the transcript from the upcoming interview and boy is it a doozy!
Bryant Gumbel “If you were tanking, would you tell me?”Derek Jeter: “Tanking? What is– no– tanking?”Bryant Gumbel : “Tanking is — not trying your hardest to win ball games in — every day.”Derek Jeter: “We’re trying to win ballgames every day.”Bryant Gumbel : “If you trade your best players in exchange for prospects, it’s unlikely you’re going to win more games in the immediate future–”Derek Jeter: “When you take the field, you have an opportunity to win each and every day. Each and every day. You never tell your team that they’re expected to lose. Never.”
Oh, snap! Bryant Gumbel does not mess around, getting to the heart of the matter quickly. Of course, Derek Jeter responds to Bryant Gumbel’s tough questions with programmatic, standard responses. Thankfully, Bryant Gumbel wouldn’t let him off the hook that easily.
Bryant Gumbel : “You expect them to contend?”Derek Jeter: “I do. I do. If I don’t believe with the– in the players that we have on the field, who’s going to believe in them?”Bryant Gumbel : “But as an executive, it looks like you’re delusional if you believe otherwise–”Derek Jeter: “Well, call me delusional.”
Yes, Mr. Jeter, you are delusional. If you feel with your current roster you can genuinely contend, you are out of touch with reality. Lou Brown of the (fictional) Cleveland Indians in the iconic film Major League had a better roster to work with than Don Mattingly currently does.
Honestly, I don’t believe Derek Jeter is delusional, not in the slightest. I’m sure he knows precisely what he’s doing, but thankfully men like Bryant Gumbel have the stones to call him out on it — embarrassing him on national television in the process.
At one point during the interview, Derek Jeter snaps, calling Bryant Gumbel “mentally weak,” Either that or Bryant Gumbel is fully aware — on top of his game as he always is. Nice try, Mr. Yankee.
Next: Jeter, Marlins Man fiasco is bizarre
Derek Jeter: “I’m enjoying what I’m doing. Like I said, there’s still a lot to learn, all right?”
You do have much to learn, while the rest of the world is quickly learning that the charming New Yankees Captain is actually a first-class jerk.