MINNEAPOLIS — Derek Jeter doesn’t believe umpire Marty Foster when the umpire claims he told Jeter that the Yankees captain was tagged out at third Monday at Yankee Stadium.
Jeter and third-base coach Rob Thomson never heard Foster say that Toronto’s Scott Rolen tagged Jeter out at third base.
Shortly after the play on which Jeter was called out attempting to swipe third in the first inning with no outs, despite Rolen clearly never tagging him until Jeter’s hand was on the base, Foster told him Rolen didn’t have to tag him because the ball beat a sliding Jeter to the bag, Jeter said.
“I was told by the umpire that I didn’t have to be tagged to be out,” Jeter said.
Tuesday night at Citi Field, where Foster and the same crew called the Dodgers-Mets game, crew chief John Hirschbeck said Foster told him a different story.
“The ball beat you, and I had him tagging you,” is what Foster told Hirschbeck he said to Jeter.
“I don’t see a problem with that,” Hirschbeck said. “Sometimes when tempers flare, you don’t hear everything that’s said.”
Jeter wasn’t buying Foster’s explanation to Hirschbeck prior to last night’s 4-3 win over the Twins at the Metrodome.
Asked if he heard Foster say, “I had him tagging you,” Jeter was quick to answer.
“He didn’t say that,” Jeter told The Post in a firm voice. “He knows exactly what he said and he didn’t say that.”
Thomson, who restrained a livid Jeter on Monday, said, “I didn’t hear him say that.”
Jeter says he understands umpires miss calls but was still incredulous over Foster’s explanation and reiterated several times, “He didn’t say that.”
Umpire evaluator Jim McKean, a former ump, spoke to the crew Tuesday at Citi Field, but declined comment yesterday about what was said.
Had Hirschbeck and Foster talked about the play Monday instead of waiting until Tuesday, it’s possible Hirschbeck’s quotes Monday wouldn’t have suggested Foster blew the call. MLB rules stipulate only the crew chief is allowed to talk to the media. Perhaps if that rule doesn’t exist, the story wouldn’t have lingered past Monday.
Seeing Jeter aggressively question Foster’s call, Joe Girardi argued with Foster and was ejected. Hirschbeck said Foster ran Girardi when he objected to a call from the day before.
MLB always looks into player-umpire disputes, but rarely acts on them as far as disciplining umpires. Players get suspended and fined, but it’s rare an ump is punished for blowing calls or saying something inflammatory.