As noted in this very space, retired Yankees legend and future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter is reported to be a serious bidder for the Miami Marlins. The Marlins are of course currently owned by Jeffrey Loria, but Loria is known to be seeking a buyer for the club.
The team’s manager is of course Don Mattingly. Mattingly, himself a Yankee legend, was actually teammates with Jeter during the 1995 season. That was the final season of Mattingly’s career, while Jeter, then age 20 and 21, got three “cups of coffee” that season totaling 15 games.
So what does Mattingly think about the prospect of having Jeter as his boss in Miami? Via Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel ...
“He’s always talked about it,” Mattingly said Wednesday afternoon before the Marlins played the Nationals. “I asked him if he wanted to coach and he’s like, ‘Never.’
“I’m sure he’ll be good [as a theoretical future owner of a team]. Jeets pretty much seems to be good at everything he tries to do.”
As Healey notes, Jeter lives in Florida and has in the past professed an interest in owning a team, so it all passes the sniff test. However, as we originally noted, Jeter’s made $265 million or so in player salary, and he of course has many outside business interests. That’s a lot of money, but the Marlins are likely to go for upwards of $1 billion, and Jeter can’t go that long. Likely, he’d be part of an ownership group and function as the public face, not unlike Magic Johnson and the Dodgers. Jon Heyman of FanRagSports also addresses Jeter’s “money problem” with regard to a Marlins purchase.
As for Mattingly, he’s in his second season as manager of the Marlins. To date, he’s compiled a 79-84 record in Miami while also helping hold the team together after the tragic death of Jose Fernandez. Prior to joining the Marlins, Mattingly guided the Dodgers to three straight NL West titles.
