Derek Jeter chose not to retain former Miami Marlins president David Samson when Jeter bought the team back in 2017, and Samson seems quite satisfied with how little success the New York Yankees legend enjoyed during his time at the helm.
Samson reflected on his time with the Marlins during an interview with Owen Poindexter of Front Office Sports that was published on Wednesday. He said he wanted to stay on as an executive when Jeter’s ownership group took over but that he found out via an ESPN text alert that he had been fired.
Samson said Jeter had a financial backer when he purchased the Marlins who allowed Jeter to “do anything he wanted with absolutely no accountability.”
“He was able to bring in all his own people and he thought that everything that I did was bad. So he erased anything I had done,” Samson told Poindexter. “And figured he could do Costanza, which is opposite day. Anything I did, he did the opposite and assumed it would work.”
Jeter announced early last year that he was stepping down and selling his stake in the Marlins after four and a half years. He said the team’s vision differed from what he had in mind. Samson believes Jeter realized he is better off being a Subway spokesperson.
“And after four years, I think he realized that being a shortstop and being an executive are two totally different things. … And I think he realized quickly that being a pitch man for Subway was probably going to be more up his alley than running the team every day and being accountable for that,” Samson said.
Samson made numerous controversial remarks about the Marlins and their fanbase over the years. Jeter obviously felt Samson was not an asset, but the franchise is in no better shape now than when Jeter took over and cleaned house. It is not a surprise that Samson is pleased about that.
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