Derek Jeter Was Caught Off Guard By The 'Derek Eater' Headline In The New York Post
In case you missed it, the one and only Derek Jeter appeared on today's Pardon My Take. During his chat with Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter, The Captain discussed his documentary, some of the highlights of his playing career, when he earned his pinstripes, and much more.
Playing in New York, Jeter obviously had to deal with the media day in and day out. And back in December of 2012, the New York Post made a headline regarding Jeter's weight:
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What was Jeter's initial reaction to seeing this story? We got the answer to that on today's show:
Mr. Cat: Dealing with the tabloids was probably very annoying during your career. I do have to say, though, that headline, when you looked a little fat and it said 'Derek Eater,' like, you got to admit, that was funny.
Derek Jeter: Matter what, let me tell you something. You talk about trust, right? So after that came out, I was actually in Miami at a hotel. Afterwards, I went up to a couple of friends, I'm like, "Man, why didn't you guys tell me? Like, did I gain weight or something?" You know what I mean? But funny, we should have put it in the documentary actually, I had met with a good friend of mine who was on one of the networks. The next day I just ran into him at the airport and he took a picture with me. And actually, at the time, I had lost weight from when I played. So, I don't want to get on any New York paper, I don't. Because if you get on them, they will come after you. But yeah, that... I did not gain weight. A lot of people thought it was funny, I didn't at the time, I was like, "What's going on, man?"
Mr. Cat: I just imagine them at The Post just being like, "Derek Eater," we nailed it. Boom, this is the greatest headline of all-time. I laughed out loud when I saw it.
Mr. Commenter: I think they were sitting on that one for years, hoping to get a bad angle of you, and they finally got that angle and they're like, "We got him."
Derek Jeter: They might have. And at the time when it came out, like I said, I was in Miami, and I was downstairs at the hotel restaurant. I had a huge breakfast and somebody came over, and you know how you see someone, they're sort of looking at you? And they had a paper in their hand, and they're looking at me, looking at my plate, and then I saw what was on the front page.
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Was the New York Post's creative? Sure. Was it accurate? I'm not so sure. But it was great to see how open and laid back Derek Jeter was during this interview. Be sure to tune into the conversation in its entirety on today's show.