It didn’t take long for Thursday’s edition of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz to go off the rails.
And no, Michael Schur and David Samson weren’t at each other’s necks again, but the former Miami Marlins president did throw some stones, as the cast of characters on the Le Batard Show discussed Derek Jeter, who made his MLB on Fox debut over the weekend.
Jeter joined Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Kevin Burkhardt on set to cover the 2023 MLB London Series. Reviews for Jeter’s media debut were mostly positive, but there was minimal reaction to him making his first MLB on FOX appearance, though Dan Patrick did chide him for some forced laughter, which Dan Le Batard and friends also did. As well as his awkward relationship with Rodriguez.
“I have some regret about not getting to some video over the weekend that made me smile all weekend, in the plastic, forced-on way that A-Rod smile was just stuck to his face, as he faked his way through trying to be incredibly pleased that he and Derek Jeter were sharing a set,” Le Batard said. “Those two in their history is complicated , funny and amazing. A-Rod goes to the Yankees and is so not Jeter that even though he is the better shortstop, he can’t play shortstop because he’s got to get over to the side for Jeter.
“Their relationship was a mess, which is surprising that it got out in public because none of Jeter’s stuff ends up getting out in public. And then, as Fox was in London to celebrate baseball being global, they trot out Jeter and A-Rod on the same set. And the video from that, I couldn’t stop laughing at how pasted on A-Rod’s teeth were.”
Le Batard added he wasn’t making fun of Rodgriuez’s appearance, but rather how uncomfortable he was sitting next to Jeter.
“It’s not fake,” Samson said of Jeter and Rodgriuez’s disdain for one another. “A lot of this is manufactured like wrestling. The thing with Jeter and A-Rod and A-Rod’s taken a hit recently with [Jennifer Lopez] gone and now Jeter coming to Fox, which he did not want to have happen, at all.”
A-Rod does not want to share anything with everyone, especially Jeter. And Samson knows this, as he pitted the two against each other in order to raise up the price of Marlins, which were sold to an ownership group, which included Jeter, over six years ago.
While Le Batard was laughing at the discomfort, Samson was wincing at the boredom. They have no chemistry with one another and neither can hide it. Perhaps the most proactive comment came from Samson, who took a pointed shot at Jeter, saying the former New York Yankees shortstop has “always been a fraud.”
“Ask people in the know about Derek Jeter,” Samson said. “And I’ll start. Happy to start.”
Of course, Samson might be a bit biased in his view. Jeter let Samson go from the Marlins franchise after he took over as CEO. And it’s not the first time that Samson has been very vocal about his disdain for Jeter.
Samson didn’t go much further into why he believes Jeter is a fraud, but it’s clear from not only him but from others on the LeBatard Show that Jeter has entered the same “pitch-man” status as Rodriguez, and while they may be similar in that regard, there’s not a lot of hope for their future on Fox.
[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]
