Obama to Jeter: ‘You were old, man’

President Obama gave legendary shortstop Derek Jeter grief about the latter years of his career in a new interview published on Monday. 

 

The New York Yankees’ star received a hero’s send-off from the fans and media during his final season in 2014. But Obama wasn’t afraid to tell Jeter, who played until age 40, that his skills had diminished. 

 

{mosads}“I mean, for a baseball player, you were old, man,” Obama told Jeter, according to an excerpt of the interview posted to The Players’ Tribune website. “I mean, listen, let’s face it. I mean come on man, we saw you trying to run around those bases.”

 

Obama, who will leave office in January, also sought some retirement advice from the Yankee great who “has some experience hanging up the cleats.”

 

“Me and you retiring are two completely different things,” Jeter told the president.

 

“I’m about to retire. I’m not quite as young as you but still relatively young,” Obama, 54, responded.

 

“Can you repeat that? Because you know when you’re in sports, they say you’re old at 30,” Jeter joked. “So thank you, I appreciate that.”