NEWSLETTER
The timing on this is so weird, given the state of the game, that it makes you wonder what the heck actually precipitated it.
In any case, here’s the big news:
Derek Jeter and the Miami Marlins have decided to mutually part ways. He will step down as CEO effective immediately per sources.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) February 28, 2022
Jeter, a Hall of Fame shortstop with the New York Yankees, has been a part-owner of the Miami Marlins for almost five years now, and served as CEO during that time. It’s not yet clear why this is happening and what the impact will be for the Marlins organizational structure, but it’s major news for so many reasons. Not just Jeter’s famous name, but he was also a rare minority owner in baseball’s not-at-all-diverse ownership class, and he led the search that hired the league’s first female GM in Kim Ng.
Ope, as I type, the statement comes out:
Jeter statement pic.twitter.com/2E0cyzbAfv
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 28, 2022
Philosophical differences, apparently, and it makes you wonder what actually happened. It doesn’t sound great for the rest of the Marlins’ ownership, to be honest (Jeter reportedly held a 4% stake). More to come, I expect.
UPDATE: The Marlins statement is not illuminating:
Marlins statement on Jeter pic.twitter.com/1YPg2cDLP0
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 28, 2022
UPDATE 2: A neutral statement from Manfred as well:
The commissioner’s statement on Jeter leaving the Marlins … pic.twitter.com/03eDTsdGfX
— Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) February 28, 2022
The timing and immediacy of the departure – and the fact that the Marlins are notoriously one of those “small-market teams” I keep mentioning in these CBA negotiations – does make you wonder if Jeter decided he no longer wanted to be an “owner” of the Marlins.
