They may be on opposite sides of one of the most historic rivalries in sports, but that didn’t stop David Ortiz from giving Derek Jeter the highest praise.
The outspoken Red Sox slugger was asked about Jeter, who will retire after this season, his 20th in the major leagues, on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio on Tuesday.
“If there’s one guy that the baseball game is gonna miss once he’s retired, it’s Derek,” Ortiz said. “Derek is very professional, that’s a guy that is all about the game, all about the business. He is one of the baseball players that I can tell you that pretty much his whole career has done everything perfectly right. And when I watch him play I get goosebumps. You know what I’m saying? That’s one of the players that everybody wants to come and see. … That’s a player that definitely we’re all gonna miss after he’s done with baseball.”
It will be interesting to see if the rest of Boston shares Ortiz’s respect and admiration for the Captain. Jeter and the Yankees visit Fenway Park for the first time on April 22.