He wasn’t a Derek Cheater. But he sure was petty.
Speaking about his former teammate’s betting habits on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” podcast, Padres pitcher Phil Hughes said Derek Jeter would pay off his lost wagers with change.
“He had this thing. He liked to do small little wagers every now and then. But he was such a competitor that if he lost, he would pay you pennies,” Hughes recalled.
“So it would be like a hundred bucks on something stupid like a college football game that’s going on or something. And if he lost, he would literally have a bag of pennies the next day. And it wasn’t like a dollar. It was a hundred bucks. It’s a lot of pennies.”
Hughes said Jeter — now part-owner and CEO of the Marlins — “probably had to send someone to a bank and do a special request to pay you in pennies.”
The 32-year-old Hughes played for the Yankees from 2007 to 2013, winning a World Series with Jeter in 2009.
As for Jeter, his acquisition of the Marlins is a bet that he is waiting to pay off. Miami sat in fourth place in the NL East standings at 44-59 entering Wednesday.