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American Morning
Yankees Give Rivera Boot Over Theft Of Jeter's Glove
Aired March 13, 2002 - 08:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: On the baseball field, getting caught stealing is no crime. But that's on the field, not in the clubhouse. Spring training has taken a rather strange turn for superstar short stop Derek Jeter and his New York Yankees. The team released one of its players, outfielder Ruben Rivera after he allegedly stole a glove and a bat from Jeter and sold them for a profit.
And CNN contributor Keith Olbermann joins us, now, with more on this very bizarre play. Welcome back.
KEITH OLBERMANN, CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you. Thank you for having me back anyway.
ZAHN: So you're doing a -- anyway? You were terrific last time. We're delighted to have you back. You did a lit detective work yesterday. What did you find?
OLBERMANN: Well, we're looking into the story of the man who gloved not wisely but too well. This is not unprecedented in baseball, in terms of a player taking something else from another player's locker during a game, but usually it's something simple like cash or a valuable. This is something else. They started yesterday a "Baseball As America" at the Museum of Natural History. A display, here, honoring great owners of the past.
(LAUGHTER)
OLBERMANN: This is a three-year tour of the greats, the great items. First stop on the three-year tour at the Natural History Museum and the 26 Hall of Fame players there. "Where's Jeter's glove?" was the question on everybody's lips. Well, mine.
ZAHN: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLBERMANN: Have you seen Derek Jeter's glove around anywhere? Was it out here somewhere?
This story with Derek Jeter's glove being removed by one of his teammates. Did you seen it anywhere? Is it out here?
I have not seen it. No, I have not seen it. I'll be on the lookout for it, though. Ted Gianulis (ph), my old friend, the famous chicken, you must know. Where is -- where's Jeter's glove. Ted? Ted? Oh, my God! He's not getting any air in there. Somebody help Ted! Help! Help the chicken. Help!
You're a manager. You ever heard of a ball player taking another ball player's piece of equipment to try to sell it?
Ozzie, you may be, to the modern fan, certainly, the ultimate glove man. Have you seen Derek Jeter's glove anywhere? Is it -- is it here?
OZZIE SMITH, HALL OF FAMER: I haven't seen it here.
OLBERMANN: Do you have any idea where it is?
SMITH: I don't know. But we did find Shoeless Joe Jackson's shoes.
OLBERMANN: Jeter, Jeter. Jeter, Jeter, Jeter. No, we'll just have to ask Ruben Rivera where that glove is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
He also stole a bat. He tried to sell them both for $2,500. And he did disprove the theory that he could not carry Derek Jeter's bat, which is another old (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ZAHN: And then some. What did this guy think he was doing?
OLBERMANN: This is a very talented young man who has never made it in major league baseball and was about to make it back to the Yankees as a reserve and make about a $1 million this year. And this is kind of an extension of the various mistakes he's made throughout his life.
ZAHN: But this seems like a particularly egregious mistake, right?
OLBERMANN: Yes.
ZAHN: Because, in the past, the Yankees, when they take a vote and a poll of the players, don't they usually stand by their own?
OLBERMANN: Yes, there's some confusion as to whether or not there was actually a team vote to throw him off the team, like some edition of "SURVIVOR" in Yankee Island. But clearly the veterans were consulted on this. And a guy I know very well -- he used to pitch in the major leagues -- said, "the only thing that will get you thrown out of major league baseball is thievery in the clubhouse." You can throw firecrackers at fans. You can go to rehab 127 times. It doesn't make a difference. This is it.
We have one other item from being up at the History Museum that I wanted to share with you. One of the great all time bloopers from one of the great all time baseball players. This thing, this tour across America of the baseball memorabilia is being sponsored by Ernst & Young. And Hank Aaron, the great Hall of Famer, thanked them and you have to listen to this to believe it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK AARON, HALL OF FAMER: On behalf of all my fellow Hall of Famers, I can't express how proud we are to be here today. And how grateful we are that the Enron & Young has chosen to partner with Baseball Hall of Fame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
ZAHN: Oh, no! Enron & Young?
OLBERMANN: All time home run leader Hank Enron there, Paula, visiting with us here on "American Morning".
(LAUGHTER)
ZAHN: Well, of course, that was a pretty charitable crowd. Did people laugh at him when said that?
OLBERMANN: I was in the back with a bunch of the people from Ernst & Young, which is, after all, a large accounting firm not unlike Arthur Andersen, tied to Enron and they doubled over. And I'm not sure -- some of them were laughing and some of them seemed to have severe gastric distress when that happened, because who knows how much they paid to get the sponsorship and the publicity. And that's the publicity they get.
(LAUGHTER)
ZAHN: And of course, you've added salt to his wounds this morning by playing it, making it public -- more public than it was in the museum setting.
OLBERMANN: Well...
ZAHN: Shame on you.
OLBERMANN: There were -- we had three cameras. What am I supposed to do, bury the tape?
ZAHN: You're going to be back in the next hour?
OLBERMANN: Yes. A more serious topic. The subject of rising racism and racial issues in sports being played out on several levels. We'll explain.
ZAHN: So there's a team called "The Whities"? Is that what the...
OLBERMANN: "The Fighting Whities." It's a group of Native American players who are reversing the roles of the idea of calling teams Indians and Redskins and all that. And sort of hitting home with a lot of people.
ZAHN: All right. See you in about 45 minutes or so.
OLBERMANN: Presumably.
ZAHN: Go get a good cup of coffee...
OLBERMANN: Thank you very much.
ZAHN: ... and a stale bagel and then come back.
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