WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – Yankees captain Derek Jeter knew it was coming. His reaction to Joe Torre’s new book?
“I thought that was going to be the first question,” Jeter said last night at his Turn 2 Foundation dinner.
“To be quite honest with you, people were saying this and saying that. Then all I hear is, people saying wait until you read the book. To be fair to everyone, I think you have to wait to see what’s in it first and then give Mr. T an opportunity to address it.”
Co-written by Torre and Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, “The Yankee Years” is due out Feb. 3. Among other things, the book details how some teammates referred to Alex Rodriguez as “A-Fraud” after he joined the Yankees for the 2004 season, and it compares A-Rod’s supposed obsession with Jeter to the movie “Single White Female.”
Torre managed the Yankees from 1996-2007 before taking over the Dodgers last season.
“It gets to a point where it seems like we’re always talking about the same thing,” Jeter said. “It seems like every year at this time it’s the same questions about the same things. I think everyone is eager to get to spring training and start playing on the field.”
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada agreed with Jeter about Torre’s book.
“I’ve got to find out what it’s all about,” Posada said. “You really can’t comment on something that you don’t know. I have no idea right now. I’ve got to read it. It’s a matter of time for us to sit down and read it, and talk to Joe.”