Former Yankees player and current Marlins manager Don Mattingly was like many of us on Sunday night, watching ESPN's new Michael Jordan documentary, The Last Dance. And during the premiere of the first two episodes, his mind kept coming back to a player he used to see up close and personal just like the never-before-seen footage.

Another former Yankee and his current boss, Derek Jeter.

Why? It was due to one instance in the first episode where UNC's Roy Williams was talking about how Jordan went to practice and played in Final Four games the exact same way during his time with the Tar Heels. It was one speed with one goal in mind: to be the best.

Mattingly told ESPN's Joon Lee that was the exact same mindset as Jeter.

"I heard someone else say that Michael is one of the only guys who he thought could turn it off and turn it on and never turned it off. I loved that statement," Mattingly said. "I think that was Roy Williams, and Derek was like that. He's so consistent. It's smooth everyday. Spring training at-bats look just like playoff at-bats. It's one of those guys who could relax and be focused but be there to win every single day. He truly had that on all of the time and every day. That's a long time and that's not easy to do. That's part of the toughness you see from the inside."

Mattingly went on to explain that Jeter came into his first spring training with the Yankees, and didn't look like he even belonged. However, it quickly changed because of that work ethic that he doesn't get enough credit for in Mattingly's eyes.

"The toughness, it's probably not a word a lot of people use with him because he's a good-looking dude, beautiful wife, beautiful family, has got it all," Mattingly said. "You start watching the Michael Jordan documentary and I'm telling you, Derek is right there, even now with that kind of toughness that you're going to see in this documentary. It's Derek."

Jeter, of course, became the Yankees' captain and played 20 seasons in pinstripes to every fan's enjoyment before getting the call this year that he would be a Hall-of-Famer -- something that was written in stone well before the writers' votes were cast.

Jeter might not be comparable to Jordan in the sense of his accomplishments and status within their respective sports. But Mattingly knows their demeanor, their mindsets and overall desires to win while they played were the exact same.

Jordan was a proud supporter of Jeter during the latter's playing days. On "Derek Jeter Day" at Yankee Stadium to honor his final year in the league, Jordan was present to witness it. He was also seen among the athletes and celebrities that tipped their cap to him in the Nike commercial that went viral to send Jeter off into the sunset. And of course, Jeter also wore MJ's signature Jumpman logo across his cleats for most of his career.

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