Jeter looks to positives in Marlins plight
Notice: Undefined variable: article_ad_placement3 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/single.php on line 128
Derek Jeter was chatting with a cluster of fans during Marlins batting practice Wednesday when a preschooler wearing a Dodgers cap asked him to sign a baseball.
“I will if you take that hat off,” Jeter said with a smile.
One-quarter of the way through Jeter’s first season as CEO, the Marlins are still struggling to reclaim the support of South Florida. Average home attendance through Tuesday was 10,676, by far the worst in the majors, and a 15-26 record didn’t have fans scrambling to jump on the bandwagon.
Jeter said he’s not pleased with the team’s record or attendance, but sees reason for encouragement regarding the direction of the troubled franchise.
“What I try to do is take positives from every game,” he said. “There are a lot of good things we’ve seen. Obviously no one is happy with the win-loss record. But there are a lot of positives.”
They’re tougher to find regarding attendance, with the Marlins likely to finish last in the National League for the 13th time in 14 years.
“We’ve gotten a positive reception with what we’re trying to do,” he said. “But the bottom line is we want more people to come. We’re not happy with the number of people in here. A lot of that goes with how we perform.”
In the wake of the franchise’s latest payroll purge last offseason, a contending team could be years away. The dismantling was designed to help rebuild from the ground up, starting with a weak farm system.
Milwaukee 8, Arizona 2: Travis Shaw, Domingo Santana, Christian Yelich and Tyler Saladino homered in the first four innings off Matt Koch, and the Milwaukee Brewers routed the Diamondbacks 8-2 to take two of three in Arizona.
Cincinnati 6, San Francisco 3: Scooter Gennett homered a half-inning after the second baseman saved two runs with a diving catch on a difficult popup, helping the Cincinnati Reds avoid a sweep by the San Francisco Giants with a 6-3 win.
Texas 5, Seattle 1: Bartolo Colon laughed off having a line drive hit him in the stomach to allow four hits in 7 2/3 shutout innings and give the Texas Rangers a 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Tampa Bay 5, Kansas City 3: C.J. Cron homered and scored three runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Kansas City 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep of the woeful Royals.
Cleveland 6, Detroit 0: Trevor Bauer struck out 10 in eight sparkling innings, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Tigers 6-0, avoiding a three-game sweep in Detroit.