“Earvin Magic Johnson is one of my heroes, and he’s a great friend and a mentor” - Alex Rodriguez believes NBA legend Magic Johnson changed his life and perception
During his time as a ballplayer, superstar shortstop Alex Rodriguez served as a role model for millions of young baseball players. Rodriguez had one of the most prolific careers of all time, as he was arguably one of the best right-handed hitters to play in the Major League Baseball.
In his career, Alex Rodriguez crushed 696 home runs, drove in over 2,000 runs and scored 2,000 runs en-route to 3,115 hits. Hence it is probably not surprising that when asked at an event hosted by the Greenwich Economic Forum, who his role model was growing up, Alex Rodriguez pointed to another sports megastar.
“Earvin Magic Johnson is one of my heroes, and he’s a great friend and a mentor”
Alex Rodriguez stated his hero and idol at all stages of his career was Earvin Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson is arguably the best point guard in NBA history and a legend for the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson is just as fitting a role model for Alex Rodriguez now as he was when Rodriguez was watching his games on TV. It is because the former Lakers superstar is now a co-owner of the Dodgers after joining the Guggenheim Baseball Management Group in 2012. He has also briefly served as President of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Currently, Johnson has also entered the mix for an ownership bid the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. As Rodriguez evolves from athlete to businessman, he's going to have a hard time finding a better person to emulate as he transitions to the next phase of his life.
Rodriguez is off to a pretty good start. He is presently a co-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA and their WNBA counterpart, the Minnesota Lynx. Rodriguez also, in 2020 was part of a group with ex-fiance Jennifer Lopez to purchase the New York Mets. However, the group was outbidded by the now-richest owner in the sport, Steve Cohen.
He also owns the A-rod Corp which facilitates a series of corporate and real estate investments, and has established himself as a regular contributor to the show Shark Tank.
While Alex Rodriguez has a ways to go on the business front to catch up to Magic, his brand is arguably stronger as A-Rod hosts multiple podcasts as well as being a regular member of Fox, ESPN, and MLB broadcasting platforms.
If he's able to match Magic Johnson's accomplishments, A-Rod will have an argument as being the only MLB player to have a legendary career both during and after his playing days.