June 30, 2005

Rumor Mill

Radar Online:
... On June 20, after a throwing error from Jeter to Rodriguez handed the Yankees a 5-4 loss to the last-place Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a TV producer says the sluggers came to blows in the clubhouse.

"I was doing an interview in the locker room and saw them go at it," says the source. "A-Rod walked past Jeter's locker and mumbled something about his throw, then Jeter told him to go fuck himself and all hell broke lose [sic]. Their teammates were pulling them away from each other."
Here is the game in question, which snapped the Yankees' six-game winning streak.

Steve Lombardi of Yankee blog Was Watching:
FWIW, after seeing this story, I asked my friend in a position to know if this story is true. Their answer was yes. I'm still trying to find out more.
David Pinto of Baseball Musings comments:
I believe this story is bogus. ... I just spoke to a beat writer covering the Yankees who's never heard a word about this.
If this TV producer was doing an interview, there was likely other press nearby. It seems hard to believe something like this would go unreported by any of the tabloids. And wouldn't the TV producer also have a camera going for this interview? If "all hell broke loose" nearby, wouldn't there be some footage of this commotion?

I'd love it if this story was true, but I have my doubts.

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