Alex Rodriguez once questioned Derek Jeter's success as a hitter, attributing it to his position in loaded Yankees lineup
Streets will never forget baseball legends and former New York Yankees teammates Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, but many will recall how the once best of friends enjoyed a brief spell of traction in the early 2000s.
The verbal volleys began in 2000 when Rodriguez disrespected Jeter in an interview with ESPN radio, stating that Jeter was blessed with a great team and set-up, making his job much easier.
"You go into New York, you wanna stop Bernie [Williams] and [Paul] O'Neill," A-Rod was quoted saying.
"Jeter's been blessed with great talent around him so he's never had to lead," Alex said. "He doesn't have to, he can just go and play and have fun, and hit second. I mean, you know, hitting second is totally different than hitting third or fourth in a lineup…You never say, ‘Don't let Derek beat you.' That's never your concern."
During the third episode of The Captain, Jeter responded to those statements in full, revealing that he was disappointed and had lost trust in his longtime friend.
"Those comments bothered me because, like I said, I'm very, very loyal," Jeter said.
Alex Rodriguez's feud with Derek Jeter takes center stage in 'The Captain' docuseries dozz.es/ft5n22
"Alex Rodriguez's feud with Derek Jeter takes center stage in 'The Captain' docuseries," - MARCA in English, Twitter
While it was all about trust for Jeter, he also clearly stated that he'd never ever do the same to a friend.
“You can say whatever you want about me as a player, that's fine, but then it goes back to the trust and the loyalty. This is how the guy feels, he's not a true friend, is how I felt. Because I wouldn't do it to a friend,” Jeter concluded.
A-Rod did admit in his documentary that the pair had patched up their differences after he apologized and Jeter accepted it.
Derek Jeter felt Alex Rodriguez was “no true friend” after comments A-Rod made about his leadership in 2001 trib.al/0iBsnYJ
"Derek Jeter felt Alex Rodriguez was “no true friend” after comments A-Rod made about his leadership in 2001," - SI, Twitter
It didn't last long, as Rodriguez turned the relationship sour once again in another interview, saying: “there’s not one thing he does better than me.”
Alex Rodriguez once said that Derek Jeter's fridge had absolutely nothing
The former Yankees captain appeared on "Kay-Rod Cast" with Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay last year, where they spoke about a variety of things. The video viciously circulated through the baseball fraternity, warming many hearts.
The funniest bit on the show, however, was when Alex disclosed what he found in Jeter's fridge in their early days.
"He was the ultimate bachelor. A great example of that is you open his fridge, there was nothing there."
Alex went on to describe what he found in Jeter's fridge:
"He does have some cereal, so now I'm eating Lucky Charms, no milk, I get a little orange juice, put it on the Lucky Charms and that was my breakfast of champions."
After 20 years, both players have moved on to new chapters in their careers, and baseball can only hope that everything is well.