Derek Jeter on Shohei Ohtani, MLB rule changes, playing in New York, more

Derek Jeter is no stranger to the All-Star stage, even though this time around, he’s there in a different role.

Jeter is working his first MLB All-Star Game as part of the MLB on FOX crew, returning to a platform where he has plenty of fond memories.

Few MLB players had such lengthy and constant success on the All-Star stage as Jeter, who went 13-for-27 (.481) in his 13 All-Star Game appearances, including at least one hit in five of his final six Midsummer Classics. 

Of course, Jeter starred on just about every big stage, recording a .308/.374/.465 career postseason slash line while winning five World Series titles over his 20 years with the New York Yankees.

His secret? Just have fun.

“You have to enjoy the stage,” Jeter said Monday on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “You enjoy the stage of an All-Star Game, you enjoy the stage of a postseason, and you’ve got to have fun. I never treated those games as anything different. I think sometimes players get in postseason games or get in All-Star Games and try to put a little more pressure on themselves, but I just enjoyed it and I had a good time.”

Jeter sees that mentality moreso with the present-day Yankees’ playoff tormentors — the Houston Astros, who have eliminated the Yankees in four of the last eight postseasons — than any other current team, despite the Astros’ uncommon struggles this season.

“They have experience, and you can’t say enough about having experience of being there before,” Jeter said of the defending World Series champions. “Once they get to the postseason, which everyone expects them to, that’s when they’re actually relaxed.

“The No. 1 reason for that is Dusty Baker. Dusty is a calming influence on everyone in that clubhouse. … You’ve never heard anyone say anything negative about Dusty Baker, and that goes a long way when you get to the pressure-packed moments of a playoff race.”

‘I still think the Houston Astros are the best team built for the Postseason’ — Derek Jeter

Of course, Jeter always had a little bit of added pressure while playing for baseball’s most decorated franchise. However, he affirmed Cowherd’s theory that it was actually easier for him to develop into a star in New York instead of entering that already pressure-packed situation, such as current Yankees veterans Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton.

“When you come up in New York, the fanbase watches you struggle. They watch you grow. They see you every single day,” Jeter said. “When you come in as a free agent, the only time they’ve seen you are in the highlights. They see you hitting the home runs, they see you driving the runners in. They see the success. And then when they come, and they struggle a bit, the fanbase looks at it like, ‘I’ve never seen this before. This is not what we signed.’ 

“So it is much more difficult, I think, to come to New York when you’re a free agent as opposed to coming up with the organization. Thank God I came through the organization because [the fans] had a lot of patience with me.”

More difficult to play in New York as a free agent vs. a homegrown player?

Jeter is jealous of present-day MLB players in one major area, though. The Hall of Famer said he would have loved to play during the era of the pitch clock, which has been very well received in its first year of implementation. Jeter said it would have made a big difference, especially during the height of the Yankees’ rivalry with the Boston Red Sox in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“I came up when we had the Boston-New York rivalry, we had four-and-a-half-hour games every time,” Jeter said. “As a player, I would have loved to have two-and-a-half-hour games. So I think it’s good for the consumer, it’s good for the fans. 

“But I think also the goal has been to have more action in the game. So some of the rule changes I think have been great. The response from the fans has been great. I think it’s easier to watch a game on television. So I’m actually all in favor of the changes.”

As a contact-first hitter for much of his career, he was also not a big fan of infield shifts, which were throttled by a rule change heading into 2023.

“I didn’t like the shift either,” Jeter said. “As a baseball fan, you’re used to when balls are hit hard to the right side, it’s a hit. Then all of a sudden you’ve got someone wandering out there in the outfield. So I was big on eliminating the shift.”

‘When you talk about shorter games, I would have loved it as a player’ — Derek Jeter on MLB rule changes

Next on Jeter’s wish list as a baseball fan, almost a decade after his playing career ended, is to see Los Angeles Angels stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the big stage of the postseason, either in Southern California or elsewhere.

“You want to see the best players on the national stage,” Jeter said. “Unfortunately for [the Angels], they haven’t been in the postseason in years. Ohtani’s never played in the postseason.”

The closest Ohtani came is when he propelled Japan on a dramatic run to the 2023 World Baseball Classic title — striking out Team USA captain Trout for the final out in the championship game. 

Will Shohei Ohtani land largest contract in MLB history next offseason?

“You look at the WBC, the whole world was watching Ohtani,” Jeter said. “He was a shining star. You want as a baseball fan to see them in those situations. … That’s what I know players want, too. They want to be on that stage, so they can showcase their talents and I think baseball’s been missing that with both Trout and Ohtani.”

While Trout is sidelined with a wrist injury, fans can see Ohtani and the rest of the 2023 MLB All-Stars at 5 p.m. Tuesday — as well as Jeter and the rest of the MLB on FOX studio crew — on FOX and the FOX Sports App

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