Baseball buds — or frenemies? Derek JeterAnd Alex RodriguezAlthough they started their careers as close friends, their relationship has seen many changes over the years.
They first met at a 1993 college baseball game between University of Miami (now Michigan) and one year later they became close friends while playing in the minor leagues. Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners in 1994, despite Jeter having been playing since 1992.
Jeter made his New York Yankees debut with the Yankees in 1995. He quickly became a celebrity alongside his pal, sharing a cover of Sports Illustrated that proclaimed them as part of “the finest group of shortstops since World War II.”
They weren’t yet teammates, but their friendship was already legendary. The 2011 biography The Captain: The Journey with Derek JeterMariners and Yankees players were recalled laughing at the pair about their close relationship. When the two clubs faced each other in 1998, one of Jeter’s former teammates asked him, “Are you going to your boyfriend’s house?”
However, their relationship began to crack in 2000. Rodriguez had signed a $252 million contract — at the time the biggest in sports history — to join the Texas Rangers, while Jeter signed a $189 million deal to stay with the Yankees. It should have been a moment of celebration for them both, but it became a tense moment when Rodriguez was asked who else in baseball could break his new record.
“I don’t know who it’s going to be,” the New York City native told ESPN in December 2000. “The 252 is going to be hard to break because of my age and my talent at such a young age. Even a guy like Derek, it’s going to be hard for him to break that because he just doesn’t do the power numbers and defensively he doesn’t do all those things.”
Jeter responded by saying he wasn’t interested in breaking the contract record anyway, but the die was cast. Rodriguez pulled the knife deeper when he told his story in March 2001. Esquire that the New Jersey native “never had to lead” in his baseball career.
The Yankees traded Rodriguez to Rodriguez in February 2004 and the pair became teammates. The three-time MVP agreed to switch positions to third baseman as Jeter was already the team’s star shortstop; this also meant that the duo would play side-by-side on the field.
The twosome retired within two seasons of each other and their relationship has been a hot topic with baseball fans ever since. In September 2018, Rodriguez admitted that he and Jeter have had their share of highs and lows, but he’ll always have love for his ex-teammate.
“Derek and I are friends. I’ve known Derek since we were 15 years old,” he told Cigar AficionadoAt the time. “Like all relationships, there’s ups, there’s downs, there’s ups, but where it sits today is where it’s always sat — with respect.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at Jeter and Rodriguez’s friendship over the years.
