Derek Jeter And The Miami Marlins Fire Cancer-Surviving Scout Who Needs A Kidney Transplant
The Miami Marlins cut ties with one of their executives while he was still recuperating in a Florida hospital from colon cancer surgery. Doctors apparently found the cancer while Marty Scott, 64, was being prepped for a kidney transplant as a result of diabetes.
Scott, who has spent four decades in Major League Baseball in various capacities, went to work for the Marlins about six years ago. He held the title of vice president and was involved in scouting for the team. He was hoping to remain with the Marlins under the new Derek Jeter ownership group but learned on October 16 while he was resting in a hospital bed that the team wasn’t going to renew his contract that was ending on October 31.
Scott, who is awaiting a new kidney, told Yahoo Sports that he was hurt by the way he was treated by the National League team.
“Derek Jeter doesn’t owe me anything. Probably in their hearts they did what they thought was right. I know based on certain aspects of the game, I probably was making too much money…I just think 40 years was worth more than a spank on the butt and see you later. Forty years in baseball, I let a lot of people go. I never, ever fired somebody 10 days, 15 days before their contract was up. If I knew I was going to fire somebody, I did it at the beginning of September.”
Marty Scott apparently received the bad news about his employment status from pro scouting director Jim Cuthbert, but Michael Hill, who is president of baseball operations, rather than CEO Jeter, supposedly made the decision.
Marty Scott was let go Oct. 16, just before his contract was set to expire at the end of the month https://t.co/JfwdeN7R9a
— New York Post (@nypost) December 2, 2017
The Marlins under CEO Derek Jeter recently raised eyebrows by parting ways with MLB icons and outreach ambassadors Andre Dawson, Tony Perez, Jack McKeon, and Jeff “Mr. Marlin” Conine. Jeter, the retired New York Yankees star who has five World Series rings, reportedly used outgoing team president David Samson as a go-between to advise the quartet that they were no longer part of the cost-cutting team going forward.
As widely reported, the Marlins are anxious to move superstar Giancarlo Stanton, the National League MVP right fielder who blasted 59 home runs last season, because of financial constraints. MLB Trade Rumors reports there are deals on the table with the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants, but Stanton has yet to waive his no-trade clause. Another complex issue is how much of the remaining $295 million due to Stanton on his current contract will the Marlins be willing to eat to make the transaction happen. A Los Angeles native, Station is said to prefer a trade to the Dodgers.
The 2017 Miami Marlins finished in second place in the National League East with a record of 77 and 85 and out of playoff contention. The attendance-challenged Marlins, which partially explains the team’s red ink, play their home games at Marlins Park, a retractable domed stadium which opened in 2012.
