Yankees legend Derek Jeter was joking around — or was he?
During a World Series interview on FOX, Jeter playfully jabbed Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts, who admitted he’s chasing Jeter’s five championship rings. Betts already owns three and is vying for a fourth.
“Somebody told me last year that you said that you were chasing me with the number of (World Series) rings,” Jeter said, straight-faced, via X/Twitter. “How many rings you got?”
Betts replies, “Three.”
“2 1/2?” Jeter said, playing dumb before finally breaking. “I’m just playing. Dodgers fans, I’m playing. It’s a joke amongst friends, I’m just joking.”
The joke was meant to take a jab at Betts’ World Series ring with the Dodgers in 2020, the COVID-shortened season. Jeter benefits from downplaying that championship because, if the Dodgers win this year, he’ll have the same number of rings Jeter had at his age-32 season — four.
The reality is that at this point in their careers, Betts is a step ahead of Jeter statistically. Here’s how both players fared by their age-32 season, 12 years into their careers:
| Jeter | Betts | |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1679 | 1531 |
| AVG | .317 | .290 |
| OBP | .388 | .369 |
| SLG | .463 | .512 |
| OPS+ | 122 | 135 |
| bWAR | 54 | 75.1 |
| Rings | 4 | 3* |
The Dodgers are currently tied 2-2 with the Toronto Blue Jays in the best-of-7 World Series. Game 5 will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at Dodger Stadium.