Giants' Eli Manning talks Yankees' Derek Jeter being New York mentor

New York Giants legend Eli Manning revealed during a recent edition of "The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast" that he learned plenty about playing in the country's largest sports market from none other than New York Yankees all-time great Derek Jeter. 

"Both those two positions, (quarterback and) the shortstop of the Yankees, you’re probably going to get too much credit when things are going well or too much blame when things are going bad," Manning explained during the podcast episode, per Geoff Magliocchetti of Men's Journal. "You just have got to make sure you’re doing the opposite, spreading it out and accepting it at times and understanding we have the big shoulders, we can handle this, it’s not going to affect my performance the next day, the next week." 

While Jeter made his big-league Yankees debut during the 1995 MLB season, Manning joined the Giants via the 2004 NFL Draft. It was, of course, during Manning's rookie campaign when the Yankees famously blew a 3-0 lead against the rival Boston Red Sox en route to losing the American League Championship Series. 

"I definitely talked to him and was around him as a young player," Manning said about the Hall of Famer. "I watched him, how he handled everything. He was a great teammate and teammates respected him and he always had their back." 

Jeter already possessed four World Series rings by the time Manning made his way to the Giants and, thus, knew all about dealing with the stresses that come with being a high-profile athlete in the New York region. Manning ultimately became a two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player and one of the most popular figures in Giants history, but the lessons he took from Jeter had to do with more than just recording wins on football fields. 

"The way he treated the media, he was always available, always willing to talk to them," Manning added about Jeter. "Never said too much, gave them answers but wasn’t making headlines, wasn’t calling people out. He took the blame when there was blame to be accepted, and he also dished out all the credit when things were going well. I think that’s kind of the way you do it as a quarterback, as a head coach." 

One could argue neither franchise has been the same without the New York sports icons. The Yankees last appeared in a World Series when Jeter helped the Bronx Bombers win the 2009 Fall Classic, and the Giants have earned just one playoff victory since Manning guided the team to a Super Bowl XLVI win over the New England Patriots in February 2012.