Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have been through a lot together. These two legends were feuding for the majority of their careers. This includes the time that they spent together on the New York Yankees. But it did not start out that way. As young rising stars, Jeter and A-Rod were close friends before the latter’s controversial comments destroyed that bond. In his book, Jeter reminded us of that friendship. 

During the early portions of their careers, Rodriguez and Jeter were like brothers. But in the intense feud that followed, people forget how close they actually used to be. In his book released in 2000, the former Yankees captain gives us a glimpse at it. 

Derek Jeter once gave a glimpse of his brotherly bond with Alex Rodriguez

Most baseball followers know that Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez spent the majority of their careers on bad terms. This was due to comments made by A-Rod about Jeter despite them being friends. By doing so, Rodriguez lost Jeter’s trust. But in his book “The Life You Imagine”, Jeter opens up about their relationship before A-Rod’s comments.

It paints a very different picture of what their relationship turned out to be. 

On page 269 of “The Life You Imagine”, Jeter says, “I’ve had hours of discussions with Alex Rodriguez about life and about getting better as a person and a player. There aren’t too many people whom I can talk to who understand exactly what I’m going through, but Alex is one of them because he’s going through the same experiences.”

He further emphasized their close relationship saying, “We talk about so many different topics that, half the time, we probably don’t even know we’re helping each other out. He’ll answer one of my questions about being out in a city you’re not too familiar with, and three weeks later what he said will be in the back of my mind: ‘Oh, yeah—Alex said to be careful if you ever run into that kind of problem.’ It’s a great friendship because we can learn from each other every day.”

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This was a candid expression of their friendship before Rodriguez came out with his comments. Furthermore, it shows just how much their relationship deteriorated over the years. During their years together on the Yankees, there were rumors of one not speaking to the other and keeping it “professional”. 

Jeter and A-Rod have since made up

Derek Jeter has forgiven Alex Rodriguez for the comments that he made and the two have somewhat made up. Although their friendship will never be the same, they have decided to be on cordial terms.

Jeter said that he’s too old to be keeping grudges and that it’s all in the past. This is a huge step forward for the two of them as just a few years ago, they didn’t want to be in the same room together.

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What do you think about Derek Jeter’s honest portrayal of his friendship with A-Rod before betrayal? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.