Derek Jeter was on the radar of Jeffrey Loria long before the Miami Marlins' owner agreed in principle Tuesday to sell his team for $1.3 billion to a group that includes the retired Yankees captain and former Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush.
Loria, a native New Yorker who grew up a Yankees fan and made part of his reported $500 million fortune as a private art dealer, became the managing general partner of the Montreal Expos in December, 1999. He instructed general manager Jim Beattie to ask Yankees GM Brian Cashman what it would take to acquire Jeter. Beattie said the Expos' offer featured power-hitting outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, who earlier this year fell 15 votes short of making the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
"Mr. Loria really wanted Jeter," said Beattie, a former pitcher for the Yankees, who now is a scout for the Blue Jays. "I kept telling him it wasn't going to happen and he said 'Well, you have to make the call.' I called Cash at a point I said 'Jeffrey is really interested in Jeter.' Cash said 'No, we're not going to trade.' I said I understand that, just for conversation and I'm not even sure we would do this, would you trade him for Guerrero?
"There was silence on the other end. He said 'Would you do that?' Cash said, 'That's a crazy offer but I'm just not going to trade him. He is a franchise player for us and we're not going to trade him.' You could try to trade for him, but they weren't going to trade him. Yeah, there was an effort."
Jeter, who already had been Rookie of the Year and had three World Series titles with the Yankees, wasn't going anywhere.
"I remember him asking me about Jeter and obviously I remember telling him no," Cashman said of his conversation with Beattie. "He told me my owner asked me to make the call, something like that."
Loria, 76, reached at his Manhattan residence Tuesday, said "I have nothing to say."
Loria sold the Expos to Expos Baseball, LP a subsidiary of Major League Baseball in 2002 and bought the Marlins for $158.5 million. His team beat the Yankees in six games to win the 2003 World Series.
Loria has a long association with the Bush family. In 1989, Loria bought the Oklahoma City 89ers, a Triple-A affiliate of the Rangers. He became close with the managing general partner of the Rangers _ George W. Bush _ who later became the 43rd president of the United States.
Forbes recently valued the Marlins at $940 million. Jeter's net worth has been estimated to be $185 million by TheRichest.com and CelebrityNetWorth.com. The Associated Press reported Jeb Bush's net worth at $22 million.
Other partners involved in the deal and financing for the sale has not been disclosed. Approval from Major League Baseball is expected to take several months.
