Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter had the dream of having the kind of success he had on the field at the front office level: that was his desire when he was part of the ownership group that purchased the Miami Marlins in 2017.
Just five years after choosing to be a part of the Marlins as a CEO and part-owner, Jeter announced he is stepping down, primarily because he didn’t sign up for much of what’s currently going on in the franchise.
Since taking over the Marlins, Jeter’s team achieved one of only three playoff appearances by Miami in its history, since 1993: it came in 2020, in the pandemic season.
Other than that, the Marlins have done more rebuilding than anything else.
They did build an impressive collection of young players and pre-arbitration talent, mainly because of the trades and transactions Jeter executed.
But he probably didn’t want to rebuild anymore, though.
The Baseball Universe Backs Jeter
The baseball universe reacted to his decision: some people remembered the Giancarlo Stanton trade that somehow signaled the Marlins’ intentions back in 2017.
Derek jeter
-retires from the Yankees
-becomes CEO of the Marlins
-trades Marlins best player to the Yankees
-steps down as CEO— Kyle (Greg Gibson) (@BlueMetropolis) February 28, 2022
However, other recognized his contributions to Miami.
There is no doubting how much Derek Jeter did for this organization. There were a lot of positive changes made in his time with the Marlins. Whether that would have continued and how far they go under him is the question we are all left pondering today. https://t.co/ccqc8tk7vH
— Ethan Budowsky (@ethanbudowsky) February 28, 2022
Perhaps more importantly, he has earned respect from the players, which is huge in the middle of a huge conflict between owners and the union.
Lindor’s ig story seems to indicate this move was done in solidarity with the players, in which case I now love jeter even more pic.twitter.com/w395ae5KkN
— Emily Nyman (@EmSheDoesIt) February 28, 2022
#Re2pect #TheCaptain #CompetitiveIntegrity pic.twitter.com/bomdN1acHk
— Jason Castro (@J_Castro15) February 28, 2022
A born winner turned front office who steps down because the organization doesn’t want to win…. 🤔 I #re2spect the captain for showing just what is happening in our game pic.twitter.com/TN50dAMwpl
— GarvSauce (@MitchGarver) February 28, 2022
In fact, the theory that Jeter announced his resignation (and the sale of his ownership stakes, too) as a solidarity move towards the players is plausible.
It’s hard to know for sure, but Jeter was on the other side of the road for many years, winning the respect of the league for his contributions as a player.
He knows that they are fighting for a fair treatment: perhaps he saw that the Marlins’ ownership didn’t want players to get what they deserve and decided to step aside.
In any case, the baseball world recognizes his contributions to the game, this time in the front office.
NEXT: Derek Jeter Explains Why He Is Leaving The Marlins