“You’re a f***in’ idiot!” - When Derek Jeter debunked the story behind the viral ‘Gift Basket’ rumors

Arguably the greatest Yankees captain in the history of the franchise, Derek Jeter won the Fall Classic five times and created many records in the MLB. Amongst all his accomplishments and the love that he received from the baseball fans was one tiring episode that was addressed by the former Yankees captain.

In 2022, prior to the premiere of The Captain, an ESPN documentary on his life and career, Jeter dispelled the myth that he would allegedly give his one-night stands a gift basket the next morning after their overnight stay at his apartment.

According to a 2011 New York Post article, Jeter had a practice of "coldly sending them home alone with gift baskets of autographed memorabilia." That tidbit of hearsay originated from that article.

"You know, you see it, and then it’s like, how the f--- did people come up with this? You know, basically, that’s it. And who would believe this s---? And you believed it," Derek Jeter said.

Jeter, in the episode, thwarted the baseless rumors and narrated an incident wherein a stranger in line told Jeter that he was handing out gift baskets, too, since he was doing so.

"I remember being at a Starbucks one time and there’s some random guy behind me and he says, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know that I’m giving out gift baskets because you did,’” Jeter said. “And I turned around and said, ‘You’re a f------ idiot!’ and the look on his face … like, did he think I was gonna say, ‘Yeah, good job, man!"

“It’s a story that became larger than life. People keep regurgitating this story that never happened. Never happened,” Jeter added.

Derek Jeter is a generational talent

Derek Jeter's career took off rapidly. In his first six seasons, he appeared in five World Series and won four.

After declaring retirement from baseball following the 2014 campaign, Jeter married Hannah Davis, and the two of them had four kids—three girls and one boy. From 2017 to 2022, he was also the Marlins' chief executive officer. Along with Red Sox rival David Ortiz and former teammate Alex Rodriguez, he is currently a panelist on Fox Sports' MLB coverage.