MLB

Derek’s talks with Yankees test of respect for Humble Hal

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hal Steinbrenner often appears the accidental owner, atop the Yankees masthead because his father passed the team on and his older brother, Hank, fumbled it away.

He filled the void and oversees the Yankees, it appears, more out of duty than passion. He ranges from fidgety to outright discomfort when his role as king of the organizational flow chart forces him into public comment.

Yesterday, at the conclusion of an owners briefing by MLB commissioner Bud Selig, as Hal Steinbrenner waited in front of the Waldorf Astoria here, yearning for a valet to hurry up so he could disappear inside his car for the cross-state trip back to Tampa, Hal was confronted by about a dozen reporters. Unlike his father, who could turn such a session into backpage gold, Hal stayed disciplined, which meant offering vague comments and evading actual information.

But he returned to one word several times that was quite revealing for a man who was trying to reveal nothing: Respect.

And it is quite the devilish word in these negotiations, because the Yankees are trying to find the right way to pay Derek Jeter for his present value without disrespecting his legacy and his standing with the fans. In other words: What do you offer a player based on the current facts — 37 next year, coming off his worst offensive season, with dying range at short? If his name were Marco Scutaro, maybe, one year at $10 million.

But he is Derek Jeter. So as I reported yesterday, the Yankees were preparing to offer at least three years, with the expectation that it would be for around $45 million. Thus, to pay respects to Jeter, the Yankees were willing to begin negotiations with an overpayment of roughly two years and $35 million.

Of course, the Jeter camp sees his worth differently, believing that he is directly linked to the popularity of the organization and the gigantic value of the franchise besides still being a star player.

And that is why Hal Steinbrenner and his Yankees are treading carefully. For almost any other player, they would move on or publicly ridicule the delusion of worth. But with Jeter, they are not just dealing with any player, but an organizational icon.

“This is a business negotiation,” Steinbrenner said. “No one wants to make it personal. My family has a lot of respect for Derek and I think the feeling is mutual. . . . It [the negotiation] will take as long as it takes. The key thing is that it does not get personal.”

That is a difficult tightrope, because you know the Yankees want to scream that they have already paid more than $200 million to Jeter. That Jeter’s popularity is based more on his association with them than vice versa. And that if they simply sat on, say, that three-year, $45 million, they very well could humiliate Jeter by asking him to find another team to even match that, which is unlikely.

And you know Jeter wants to scream about disloyalty. About how the Yankees took care of Alex Rodriguez despite his embarrassing nature. About how they found a way to give A.J. Burnett — A.J. Burnett, for goodness sake — a five-year contract. About how you could draw a straight line from Jeter’s popularity to starting up the YES Network, opening a new Stadium, building the brand into the most powerful in North American sports.

They are a married couple that knows the soft spots with which to hurt each other. Yet they know the marriage must go on. So they will continue to search for that place where they could both find comfort. They will endeavor not to let it get personal — despite the pulls to do just that.

“The important thing is we are working hard to get a deal done,” Steinbrenner said. “I think there is a mutual respect on both sides. There is a lot of history there.”

joel.sherman@nypost.com