MIAMI _ Derek Jeter runs the Miami Marlins now, and he wants to hear from you.
In his introductory news conference Tuesday as the Marlins' CEO and minority owner alongside principal owner Bruce Sherman, Jeter preached patience when it comes to rebuilding the organization, as a baseball team and as a business.
"We believe in this market. We believe in the fan base," said Jeter, who said the fans were his No. 1 priority. "We are focused on bringing the fans back. We want to build an organization that's sustainable over time.
"We feel there's huge upside, and that starts with community engagement."
Jeter and Sherman, wearing matching navy blue suit jackets and light blue button-down dress shirts, fielded questions on everything from the coaching staff to the Marlins' perennially low attendance to why they wanted to buy the Marlins.
Jeter offered little in the form of specifics, particularly regarding the Marlins as a baseball team. Asked about the status of manager Don Mattingly and the coaching staff, Jeter praised Mattingly _ his former teammate and coach on the Yankees _ but stopped short of saying outright that Mattingly would be back.
"We do have to rebuild an organization," Jeter said. "It starts with player development, scouting. you have to be strong in those areas."
Before the news conference, Jeter told of his first visit to Miami as a 17-year-old on a recruiting trip to UM and made a series of promises to the fan base and city in a letter that appeared on his website, The Players' Tribune, and the Marlins' website.
"I won't make any predictions, but I will make a few promises," Jeter wrote.
The promises: "We're going to develop a winning culture," "We're going to celebrate the culture and diversity of this community," and "We believe in the Marlins' organization."
"It will not happen overnight," the letter said. "But our ownership group is focused on building a team that this community can be proud of."
