"I’ve known Derek since we were 15 years old" - When Yankees star Alex Rodriguez reminisced about his long-lost friendship with MLB legend and HOFer Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez met long before they played together for the New York Yankees. The pair first crossed paths at a college baseball game. Jeter was representing the University of Michigan, and Rodriguez was playing for the University of Miami.

While they may not have always been the best of mates, the longevity of their friendship has to be taken into account. There is also immense respect between the two for their respective careers.

"@AROD @derekjeter recreate this pic" - Yankee Doodle Dandy, Twitter

The picture above was taken before Alex Rodriguez joined the New York Yankees in 2004. Back then, A-Rod and Jeter were the best shortstops in the league and pretty good friends, too.

"Derek and I are friends," he says. "I’ve known Derek since we were 15 years old … Like all relationships, there’s ups, there’s downs, there’s ups, but where it sits today is where it’s always sat -- with respect."

In April 2001, Alex Rodriguez famously said that Jeter was blessed with great talent around him and that he wasn’t the greatest of leaders.

"Jeter's been blessed with great talent around him. He's never had to lead. He can just go and play and have fun. And he hits second — that's totally different than third and fourth in a lineup. You go into New York, you wanna stop Bernie and O'Neill. You never say, 'Don't let Derek beat you.' He's never your concern," he went on to say.

This didn't go down too well with Jeter, who responded by saying that A-Rod was "no true friend."

The feud really started there and went on for quite some time.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez at the New York Yankees

Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees in February 2004 after his initial deal with the Boston Red Sox fell through. Here, he joined forces with Derek Jeter.

"OTD in 2004, the Rangers traded Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees. Imagine these three in the same lineup." - MLB, Twitter

With their relationship hanging by a thread due to past altercations, Derek Jeter was famously told by Don Mattingly (the Yankees hitting coach) that "you have to fake it with Alex," after it became almost unbearable in the locker room.

"People start assuming that things are a lot worse than what they are, which they're not," Rodriguez said, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. "But they're obviously not as great as they used to be. We were like blood brothers. You don't have to go to dinner with a guy four, five times a week to do what you're doing. It's actually much better than all you guys expect, but I just want to let the truth be known."

Their years of animosity finally almost fully abated when the two came together to win the 2009 World Series. They celebrated together with their girlfriends.

While they may not be the best of friends, nobody can argue about the significant impact they had on the Yankees together.

Now, with their respective careers behind them, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez seem to be close again, regularly appearing on TV shows together.