In Surprise, Jeter Quits as Baseball CEO

Derek Jeter surprised the baseball world Monday by resigning as CEO of the Miami Marlins. The Hall of Fame player also gave up his 4% stake as a shareholder in the team, reports the Miami Herald. The reasons aren't crystal clear, but in a statement Jeter said the "vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead," per CNN. He was in the last year of a five-year contract. The Athletic sees his departure as a "major loss" for Major League Baseball, given that Jeter was "the game’s first and only Black chief executive officer and previously one of its biggest stars."

The AP notes that Jeter had nowhere near the level of success as an exec that he had as a player. The Marlins logged a record of 218-327 under his tenure and made the playoffs only once, in the abbreviated pandemic season when more teams than usual made the cut. However, the Marlins were in rebuilding mode much of that time, trading away star players in Jeter's first years in order cultivate young talent, notes the Herald. Jeter said last fall he wanted to be more aggressive in signing players to help the Marlins improve now, and it's possible that wish is at the heart of the differences in "vision" he cited—the Marlins generally are one of the lowest-spending teams in the league. (MLB also is in the midst of collective-bargaining talks that could derail the upcoming season.)