Former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria ripped into the team’s former CEO Derek Jeter in his new book, “From the Front Row: Reflections of a Major League Baseball Owner and Modern Art Dealer.”
Loria blasted Jeter for his tenure as the team’s CEO from 2017 to ‘22, during which the 82-year-old alleges Jeter “destroyed the ballpark.”
In a phone conversation with the Miami Herald, Loria expressed his disappointment with the Hall of Fame shortstop’s decision to remove the team’s unique home run sculpture from behind the center field wall at LoanDepot Park and relocate it to an outdoor plaza nearby the stadium.
“Jeter came in and destroyed the ballpark,” Loria said. “Destroying public art was a horrible thing to do.”
In his book, Loria, who owned the Marlins from 2002 to ’17, was critical of Jeter’s baseball decisions as the team’s CEO, specifically mentioning Jeter’s decision to trade star players such as Christian Yelich and to fire Andre Dawson and Tony Perez.
“He was a magnificent player, and he should have asked for some advice or not been so hasty,” Loria said. “Playing shortstop doesn’t translate to success in a business environment. You have to learn, you have to ask questions.
“I think Derek felt what he was doing was right. You have to admire a guy who wants to work hard at it, but you have to have experience before you make those executive decisions. Many of their [decisions] didn’t work out.”
Jeter announced he’d be leaving the Marlins’ organization in February 2022 via a written statement that said the franchise’s direction had changed and was no longer what he “signed up for.”
