A-Rod Remorseful He Didn't Attend Jeter Day

Yankees Third Basemen Alex Rodriguz recently expressed remorse for not appearing at Derek Jeter Day.

Rodriguez, who's been Jeter's teammate since 2004, was a no-show for the September 7 festivities. Who was there, exactly? Just Joe Torre, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera to name a few, with numerous others from #2's past also contributing to the celebration. 

“When you realize, an hour before the game, 50,000 people are in their seats, ready to go, excited, energetic," A-Rod told The New York Post. "When you see Michael Jordan and Cal Ripken, two of the biggest icons of my lifetime — I thought it was a great day. I’m sorry I wasn’t there."

Rodriguez praised Jeter for being the "head of his class" during his career, in which he and Rodriguez won six divisional titles and a World Series together. 

“Derek’s been a leader from day one. He’s been the head of his class in every way, both on the field and in terms of character,” Rodriguez said. “That’s hard to do. Being undefeated for 20 years? In New York City? That’s remarkable.”

After last week's heroics against the Orioles, it's tough to see how one could argue with that. Nonetheless, since Jeter obviously won't be back next year it's undeniable that A-Rod will have to step up both on the field and off it by the time Spring Training comes around, even if him finding a way to do so at this point seems unlikely to say the least.