As the bad public relations hits pile up for Derek Jeter and the Marlins, there’s a new contender for the worst one yet.
The Marlins fired a longtime scout who needs a kidney transplant, Yahoo Sports reported. They did so while he was lying in a hospital bed recovering from colon cancer surgery.
Marty Scott was let go Oct. 16, just before his contract was set to expire at the end of the month. He was at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Fla. A few days before the bad news, Scott had a cancerous tumor and polyps removed from his colon. Doctors found the cancer while he was undergoing tests for a kidney transplant because he has diabetes.
“Derek Jeter doesn’t owe me anything,” Scott told Yahoo Sports. “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. But we all love the game. We’re all in it together. I just think 40 years was worth more than a spank on the butt and see you later.
“I’m very hurt. 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.”
A spokesman told The Post the decision was made by president Michael Hill. Neither Jeter nor Hill called Scott to give him the news, according to Yahoo. Scott said it was pro scouting director Jim Cuthbert who made the call.
This is just the latest in a series of moves that the new ownership group fronted by Jeter has made that was each either a bad look or an unpopular decision. They have removed long-tenured members of the franchise, including “Mr. Marlin” Jeff Conine. They’re also trying to trade the best player in franchise history, Giancarlo Stanton, who just won the NL MVP award.