Ex-Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria Rips Derek Jeter For Removing Stadium Sculpture

It's been five years since Derek Jeter booted the infamous home run sculpture from LoanDepot Park in Miami ... but the man who initially put it in the stadium is still apparently bitter as hell over The Captain's decision -- blasting the Hall of Famer over it in a recent interview.

Jeffrey Loria -- the former Marlins honcho who sold Jeets the team in 2017 -- unloaded on DJ for the decision to remove the centerfield sculpture while speaking with the Miami Herald ... accusing the Hall of Famer of "destroying public art."

"Jeter came in and destroyed the ballpark,” Loria said ... before adding that removing the piece "was a horrible thing to do."

Loria put the 7-story, $2.5 million sculpture in the arena in 2012. It featured fish, flamingos and water ... and it lit up every time the Marlins blasted homers.

Jeter, though, hated it -- only saying of it after he purchased the team in 2017, "It's big. Yeah. It's big. It's big." Several months later, he was able to get out of the park -- relocating it to a plaza outside of the venue.

Loria is still clearly pissed over that choice ... saying he actually tried to get it back from Jeter -- though his attempts were ultimately unsuccessful.

"Now it will rot outside where it is," Loria said, "condemned to neglect and outdoor decay."

Loria also expressed disdain for Jeter over the way he made other changes to the park -- such as covering up colorful tiles and doing away with behind-the-plate fish tanks.

There's more ... the 82-year-old also blasted Jeter for some of the roster moves he made -- while also accusing him of firing a longtime scout while the man was in the hospital recovering from colon cancer surgery.