League of his own
Yanks see success in Jeter’s future
BOSTON — Reggie Jackson spoke with the voice of a proud father Tuesday when talking about a group that includes Derek Jeter winning an auction to put it in line to buy the Marlins.
“I am real happy for him. It makes me feel good inside. I am glad to see a minority get in there and Derek is the right guy,’’ Jackson said via a phone call.
According to the Hall of Fame slugger, who was part of two groups that tried to, but couldn’t land the Athletics and Dodgers, some of the biggest names are reveling in Tuesday’s news.
“Jackie Robinson is happy now. So are a few of the guys who paved the way, Ernie Banks, Satchel Paige, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron,’’ Jackson said. “They worked so hard to carve a path. It’s good to see Derek get in there and he is black and white. It’s perfect and he is a class act.’’
Jackson was with Jeter in Las Vegas recently for a charity event and could hear the gears working in his friend’s head.
“You could see he was occupied mentally with it,’’ Jackson said. “His mind was working.’’
Brett Gardner, CC Sabathia and Joe Girardi have known Jeter longer than any other Yankees and weighed in on the future Hall of Famer moving into the front office.
“I think he will do whatever it takes to be successful,’’ Gardner said Tuesday in the Fenway Park clubhouse after the Yankees-Red Sox game was postponed by rain. “As a player who had so much success in the game he knows maybe a lot more about the inside of a club- house as far as life as a player. I am sure he will surround himself with the right people as far as the business side of things. No matter what he is involved in, I have no doubt he will be successful.’’
If the deal goes through, Jeter will be part of a big league team other than the Yankees for the first time ever.
“I am sure it would be, even though he is not necessarily wearing the uniform of another team, I am sure it would be strange,’’ Gardner said. “Baseball teams don’t come up for sale on an annual basis. It’s one of those things that he wants to get involved in I guess you really can’t be sitting around waiting for the Yankees to come up for sale.’’
Like Gardner, Sabathia had a front-row seat to watch Jeter, but is taking a wait-andsee approach to what kind of executive he will be.
“I have no idea. He was a good leader and a good captain, so we will see how it goes for him,’’ Sabathia said. “Great players don’t always translate to great executives. We have to wait and see what happens to him.’’
Girardi, who played on three World Series winners with Jeter and won a title with him as the Yankees’ manager in 2009, believes Jeter will taste success away from the field. However, he thinks no matter what team Jeter is associated with, he will never shed the Yankees tag.
“I think he will be very good at it. He cares about the game. He cares about the product on the field. He cares about winning and always had a good relationship with the fans,’’ Girardi said.