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Analyzing Derek Jeter’s First Day on Social Media

Also in Traina Thoughts: Great, yet scary, baseball catch; NBA gets good ratings news; Bill Burr thinks NBA is rigged and more.

Jimmy Traina

1. Hall of Famer Derek Jeter shocked many people, me included, on Tuesday morning when he joined Twitter and Instagram.

As I touched on briefly in Tuesday’s Traina Thoughts, I was disappointed to see one of my favorite players of all time dip into the cesspool that is social media.

I don’t think Jeter needs to subject himself to all the vile people on Twitter. In addition, I’d hoped Jeter would be above using Twitter. I have such admiration for people who don’t need social media in their lives. It added to Jeter’s cool factor that he didn’t slum it on Twitter.

But the five-time World Series champion is now in the muck just like the rest of us. If you’re expecting Jeter to tweet and engage with you, though, don’t hold your breath. This is clearly a marketing move to push Jeter products and projects.

On his first day, Jeter retweeted Mark Wahlberg, CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez. He did not reply to any fans after amassing nearly 300,000 followers in 24 hours.

As of this writing, he’s following only four accounts. His first follow was his wife, Hannah. Very smart move. His other follows are his sister, his Turn 2 Foundation and The Players’ Tribune, which he founded.

One of those projects Jeter will clearly push on Twitter is an upcoming ESPN documentary on his career. The trailer released Tuesday is only 30 seconds, but it looks spectacular.

“Their job is to get a headline, and I wasn’t going to give it to them.”

That line by Jeter in the documentary makes the fact that he’d join social media all the more bizarre.

But we have to give credit where credit is due. Jeter using his own GIF was a very strong way to close out his debut day on Twitter.

2. The NBA and ESPN got some good ratings news for Sunday’s Eastern Conference finals Game 7 between the Heat and Celtics with the game drawing nearly 10 million viewers.

3. I’m sure this was a well-intentioned gesture from the Mavericks, but this was also a truly dumb and useless well-intentioned gesture.

4. Does this fan deserve credit for a great catch or heat for maybe being a little flimsy with his baby or both?

5. Don’t believe headlines that say Kevin Durant and Draymond Green got into a “fight” or are “feuding” on social media. They actually had a very cordial exchange.

6. This week’s Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina features an interview with Joe Davis from Fox Sports.

Davis talks about taking over this season for Joe Buck as Fox’s lead Major League Baseball play-by-play voice at just 34 years old. Davis also talks about becoming the Dodgers’ lead play-by-play man after Vin Scully retired and how that will help him replace Buck. The versatile broadcaster also discusses being in the mix for Fox’s No. 2 NFL job with Kevin Burkhardt moving into the No. 1 slot.

Davis also explains the differences in calling baseball and football, why it’s important for a booth to have fun and how important it is for him to call a World Series.

The interview closes with a conversation about Davis’s love of grilling.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Bill Burr explained to Jimmy Kimmel last night why and how he thinks the NBA is rigged.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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