Derek Jeter: Miami Marlins ‘can’t accept mediocrity’ as shortened 2020 season begins
For the better part of the past three weeks, Derek Jeter has had an up-close view of the Miami Marlins’ practices. He sat in the front row behind home plate, anywhere from Section 13 to Section 16 at Marlins Park, as the team practiced and scrimmaged and prepared for an Opening Day that had been on hold for just shy of four months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He wears a black cloth mask at he sits in a royal blue chairback. Other members of the Marlins’ front office and executive staff — president of baseball operations Michael Hill, chief operating officer Caroline O’Connor, vice president of player development and scouting Gary Denbo and assistant general manager Brian Chattin among them — are in these same sections with the franchise’s CEO and Hall of Fame shortstop. They’re all multiple feet apart due to social distancing rules, of course.
They’re taking in every pitch, every swing, every defensive chance. They’re observing body language, batting stances and pitching sequences. They’re watching the veterans they acquired in the offseason to help in the immediate and the rising prospects who should help the club in the not-so-distant future.
Jeter’s thoughts on how the team looks with the season starting Friday with a three-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies?
“We have a group that is talented,” Jeter said on a Zoom conference call Wednesday morning, a few hours before the Marlins played their second and final exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves. “We got better at the Major League level. We have guys that are coming, that are on their way.”
But...
“You’ve got to perform on the field,” Jeter adds.
That’s what makes this third season in a rebuild that Jeter orchestrated a critical one for the Marlins, even if it’s only 60 games.
They’re far enough removed from their teardown of the big-league roster — one that traded away the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, J.T. Realmuto, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon during two offseasons — to massively overhaul their farm system that had little big-league potential. They’re also seeing the gains from flipping Sergio Romo, Zac Gallen, Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards at the trade deadline last season to get top position players prospects Jesus Sanchez, Lewin Diaz and Jazz Chisholm.
What the Marlins haven’t seen are the results in the win-loss column. The Marlins have a 120-203 record over the past two seasons with the promise that a turnaround is near.
Jeter knows improvement needs to be seen on the field. Touting a massively improved minor-league system and that the future is coming is no longer going to suffice.
“You can’t accept mediocrity,” said Jeter, a five-time World Series champion during his playing days with the New York Yankees. “We’re preaching over and over and over again — and this is taught from rookie ball on up — when you take the field, you’re taking it with the mindset that you’re going to win.”
‘Worry about winning Opening Day’
The Marlins view this shortened season as an opportunity to jump start that turnaround.
Yes, they face arguably the toughest schedule in Major League Baseball. Fifty-two of their 60 games are against teams that finished with at least a .500 record last year. They also lack, at least in name, true star power that most if not all contenders have on their roster. And the bullpen is still a massive work in progress, evidenced by the eighth-inning meltdown in Tuesday’s 10-9 walk-off exhibition loss to the Atlanta Braves (Robert Dugger and Adam Conley each gave up four earned runs and only recorded a combined two outs).
But should Miami defy the odds and get off to a strong start, the Marlins could put themselves into dark horse status. Cue the “Why not us?” mantra one more time.
Jeter will focus on that when it becomes a reality. There are more immediate goals in mind that will impact whether the playoffs become a reality.
“I think we worry about winning Opening Day,” Jeter said when asked about the Marlins’ World Series chances. “You take it one day at a time. Everyone has a shot to win. As soon as you take the field, you have a shot to win. That’s why there’s so much optimism in spring training among all 30 clubs. My mind never went there as a player. My mind doesn’t go there now.”
Shades of progress
Glimpses of what the Marlins could look like when the season begins Friday surfaced Tuesday. Eighth-inning collapse aside, the Marlins saw progress. Center fielder Jonathan Villar, left fielder Corey Dickerson and first baseman Jesus Aguilar — three key offseason acquisitions who respectively are going to bat first, third and fourth in the lineup on a regular basis — went a combined 6 for 12 with four RBI. Villar in the third inning capped a back-to-back-to-back home run sequence against the Braves’ Mike Foltynewicz after Jorge Alfaro and Miguel Rojas led off with solo home runs of their own ahead of him.
“We’ve added some guys that are professional hitters,” Jeter said. “They add a little depth to our lineup. It’s no secret and it goes without saying that we struggled to score runs last year. You hope that these guys are going to help us score a little more.”
On Friday, it will all be put to the test in this short yet vital season for the Marlins.
“You hear everyone saying it’s a sprint. Well, we need to hit the ground running,” Jeter said. “Our guys need to improve. The young guys that we have have to show that they’re going to be better, a little more consistent this year. But yeah, we have to show strides. We have to keep taking those steps in the right direction.”
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