Derek Jeter Isn't Big in Japan, Apparently

Derek Jeter took some time off from running The Player’s Tribune to go to Japan to participate in a charity game with former teammate Hideki Matsui. In his free time, Jeter and his girlfriend, Hannah Davis, decided to watch a the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament. Jeter met with some of the wrestlers afterward and it turns out some of them didn’t recognize The Captain. (Gasp!)

The Japan Times provides some details:

"Chiyomaru, a 16th-ranked maegashira wrestler, shook Jeter’s hand without knowing who he was. “I didn’t realize who it was,” Chiyomaru told reporters. “You have to tell me earlier.” Top-ranked maegashira Tochiozan recognized Jeter as a ballplayer but was fuzzy on the details. “He was a catcher or something like that, wasn’t he?” Tochiozan asked with a straight face."

Talk about lack of RE2PECT! Let’s guess that Gatorade ad of Jeter mingling with commoners in New York didn’t air in Japan.

Snark/sarcasm aside, one of the perks of being an athlete is traveling to foreign countries, where you can blend in with the crowd. It’s part of the appeal of MLS for many foreign soccer stars.

[via BLS]