From Captain Clutch to Marlins CEO: Why Derek Jeter's tenure in Miami fell short of his Yankees magic
It took over two full decades and a retirement from being a player, but Derek Jeter was finally considered a failure in his run with the Miami Marlins. After being the most iconic player in the world for the better part of 20 years, Jeter's transition to the front office could not have been more antithetical to his career.
Not only did the Marlins not do very well under him, they ended up trading away several talented players. Things didn't go well, and Jeter moved on in February of 2022.
The biggest reason why is that good players don't automatically make good executives. There's a section of the Yankees fanbase that wants to see Jeter brought on to replace Brian Cashman. That didn't go so well for the Marlins.
Good players sometimes make good managers because they know the game and they know what it's like in the dugout and the clubhouse. Being an executive is a whole different world.
In fact, the former owner of the Marlins blames Jeter for the bad trades setting the team back. Jorge Alfaro and Sixto Sanchez are the biggest names the team received from their fire sales, and they haven't been worth the deals yet.
Jeter was an excellent shortstop and a winner on the field. Sometimes, that's all a person needs to do. His ambition drove him to get involved in the front office, and it ended horribly. His legacy is in tact, but it'd be wise for him to avoid trying it again.
Derek Jeter struggled as a decision-maker
The New York Yankees icon was one of the best players of his era, collecting 3,000 hits, winning five championships and accumulating 73 fWAR. He was a rookie of the year, 14-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glover and Silver Slugger.
It did not go as swimmingly in the front office. The Marlins, with exception to the 2020 year that was shortened by COVID-19, didn't sniff the playoffs in his tenure. They shipped off Giancarlo Stanton, JT Realmuto, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and others.
They didn't get a lot in return for these players, so they weren't exactly good trades. Derek Jeter did hire Kim Ng, who's done a wondrous job after Jeter's exit. He also removed a statue that fans couldn't stand, so it wasn't entirely bad.