New York Yankee legends Alex Rodriguez and Hall of Famer Derek Jeter were once the closest of friends, but things drastically changed ahead of A-Rod’s arrival in New York, via a trade with the Texas Rangers.
Rodriguez made some controversial comments in 2001 where he shared his opinion that Jeter’s talent was because he was on a great team, a stacked Yankees dynasty team, not because he was individually special.
Those comments started a divide that would only grow throughout the years, even though the two won a World Series championship in 2009.
Now, Jeter and A-Rod are discussing the falling out, and did so over the weekend on the “Kay-Rod Cast”.
“I do wanna address something with Derek that I’ve never told you before when you talk about accountability, you know I think one of the highest, best moments of my career and the lowest has been with you, really enjoyed playing with you, learned so much from you, your leadership, obviously 2009 was unbelievable, one of the great moments in both of our careers” Rodriguez said (h/t Talkin Yanks).
“One of my biggest regrets, you know, a lot of it was because of my craziness, all the mistakes on and off the field. My regret is I wish we were as close as we were as teenagers in Seattle. 2009 is still a highlight but that would be one of my biggest regrets.”
Jeter also spoke, while disclosing that he and A-Rod met for drinks over a month ago to discuss their issues.
“You move on. You learn. Things happen in life,” Jeter said. “[I] lost one of my best friends in Gerald Williams [to cancer in February] and you realize life is short. You don’t hold grudges anymore and you move on.”