“Feel like I am at home,” David Ortiz talks about how bitter rivalry with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter turned into lifelong friendship

David Ortiz opens up about rivalry with Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter that turned into friendship from their MLB days to leisurely retirement.

“Feel like I am at home,” David Ortiz talks about how bitter rivalry with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter turned into lifelong friendship

Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez [Image Credit: Imago]

In an exclusive interview with The Sun during Fanatics Fest, MLB Hall of Famer David Ortiz talked about his relationship with New York Yankees star players Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the Yanks is pretty well-known throughout the baseball world.

Being part of the Red Sox, Ortiz naturally became rivals with A-Rod and Jeter, but things changed after their retirement. All three heads came together as part of the Fox broadcasting team, and now they are best of friends. Ortiz even expressed, “I love those guys,” during the interview.

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David Ortiz joined the crew back in 2019 and has worked together with Rodriguez and Kevin Burkhardt. Derek Jeter joined just last year and the trio became fan favorites for their chemistry and sense of humor on set. 

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I love those guys, man. Great teammates…Those guys help me out so much…They give me the freedom to do whatever I want. I feel like I’m at home when I work with them. They just let me be me.
David Ortiz as per Ryan Sanudo of The Sun.

Ortiz never forgets to remind Rodriguez and Jeter about the 2004 ALCS where the Yankees suffered a loss. During their tenure, Ortiz outperformed them, collecting accolades, and team wins in the process.

Last year when asked about how Ortiz was feeling after retirement from professional baseball, the HOFer answered he doesn’t miss it that much. He knew it was time to “pass the torch on” and move forward.

Now, the guys who were rivals in the past are now “family” to each other as they enjoy the humor, and light moments on the Fox set. Ortiz pointed to Jeter jokingly saying, there were times when “I feel like I want to whoop this guy right here,” but otherwise “I feel very comfortable around these guys.”

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Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez also turned from foes to friends

Alex Rodriguez once described his and Derek Jeter’s era as “an incredible arc” during an exclusive interview with US Weekly. Both have been part of the NY Yankees but they were also widely known for their rivalry.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez [Image Credit: Imago]

Their friendship turned sour after A-Rod’s 2001 interview with Esquire. He stated that Jeter’s success was mostly due to his team and not so much of his own. “He’s never your concern,” he said noting how Jeter “never had to lead” as there was always talent around him.

However, he apologized for his comments later on and tried to make up for the blunder. They even hugged out their distance during ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball one time, and Jeter revealed he no longer harbors bad feelings towards him.

One of my biggest regrets, and a lot of it is because of my craziness, and all the mistakes I’ve made on and off the field, my regret is I wish we were as close as we were when we were teenagers in Seattle when we played. I guess 2009 would still be the highlight, but that’s one of my regrets.
Alex Rodriguez as per Chelsea Ritschel of The Independent.

Jeter revealed he has moved on and such “things happen in life” often. Following A-Rod’s comments on Jeter, he thought Rodriguez was “not a true friend”, but as they both grew and experienced many moments in life, Jeter acknowledged “life is short”. It’s better to shake hands and move on than to dwell on sourness.

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