Sometimes You Gotta Smile And Deal With It, Derek!

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Business Insider.” data-reactid=”26″ type=”text”>‘I actually learned, factually, that Jeter was beside himself angry at that interview he had to do with Alex Rodriguez, first and foremost, because nobody told him he’d have to be sitting there next to Alex Rodriguez,’ Le Batard said on his radio show.”

Photo: New York Times

Now Le Batard likes to make headlines and who truly knows if this nugget is true.  But I will tell you this, I was at an event weeks ago and Derek Jeter was there along with several other players, Yankees and others. The event was for charity and it was cool to see all these players there.  But while it was an event where everyone shakes hands and takes pictures, there is a level of respect that needs to take place. I mean, look, I had my kid with me, and for me… it was nice to see these players, but it was more for my kid to shake hands with greatness… maybe even get a photo.  Well… I told my son, “Look, there are a lot of people here… lets try and sneak in when we can and you can meet Derek.” After all in Yankeeland, in that world, he’s a living legend and for my son, it would be kind of incredible. So he got in line with a baseball to go meet Jeet.

He rehearsed what he was going to say and ask for an autograph.  When it was his turn, I was impressed. My son looked at Derek in the eyes, shook hands and asked for him to sign his baseball.  I was proud.

Derek signed for him, but then, like it was a factory, stuck the ball in his hand and he was done moving on to the next kid in line.  I was across the table with my camera.  There was no way I was gonna miss this…

Well, you would have thought I punched Hannah in the gut.  He looked furious.  We snapped the picture and thanked him and went back to our seats.

“He was mean dad… he was mean,” My poor son said to me.

I felt horrible, but tried to explain to my son that sometimes, in these big events where there are literally hundreds of people trying to get a picture… it’s stressful. They are on display, it’s way over the top.  We as guests did the best we could to not intrude, in fact, that’s how I always operate… but I guess to Derek, my son was part of the problem.  Guess what, my son felt that and it’s a shame.

Now this isn’t to make you hate Derek Jeter.  I love the guy as a player.  He is truly one of the best. Amazing athlete, smart businessman and iconic in Yankeeland.  But I’d be lying if I didn’t express my disappointment.

Derek Jeter may be a hero to kids all over the place, but this is now the second incident of this guy allegedly having a fit because he didn’t want to do something.  You know what? As a role model… as hard as it is… and especially when kids are involved… sometimes you just have to suck it up.

As far as this ARod thing… I mean, come on. Derek couldn’t just roll with it? He was his teammate for years.  What’s another 5 minutes on TV?

Now maybe Le Batard’s story is false, maybe it is. But my story is not, and truth be told, when I read about that CNBC encounter, it all came back to me.

Oh well… maybe it was just a bad day… or 2.