Alex Rodriguez dishes on being inches away from joining Boston Red Sox
On SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio with host Adam Schein, former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez spke about being close to joining Boston Red Sox in 2003 from Texas Rangers.
At the start of 2004, the Rangers were looking trade Rodriguez, primarily driven by the desire of the ownership to alleviate their payroll burden. At the time, Rodriguez was one of the highest-paid players in baseball, signed to a lucrative contract worth $252 million over ten years.
Despite having Rodriguez's exceptional talent on their roster, the Rangers struggled to build a competitive team around him due to budget constraints. Rodriguez's salary accounted for a significant portion of their payroll, limiting their ability to acquire other talented players.
There were talks of A-Rod being traded to the Red Sox. Nevertheless, at the final moment, the MLB Players Association rejected the proposal, preventing A-Rod from accepting a voluntary reduction in his salary. Rodriguez was eventually traded to the New York Yankees, where he spent most of his career.
About his possible trade to Red Sox on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio, Rodriguez reminisced:
“We had a signed contract. We had three signatures, and we needed four.
He added a reference to Derek Jeter, saying how his trade to Red Sox would have whipped up a perfect competition between the HOFer and himself. Apparently, he hinted at the most revered rivalry in MLB: Yankees versus Red Sox.
“I thought it was a perfect storm. What great thing for baseball, Derek (Jeter) against Alex. We were both shortstops, entering the prime of our careers, and I just thought it was (a) magnificent partnership in sports to have us go against each other 20 times a year."
The trade with the Yankees allowed the Rangers to shed Rodriguez's massive contract and get some financial relief. In exchange for Rodriguez, the Rangers received infielder Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias.
Why Alex Rodriguez joined Boston Red Sox?
In 2003, the Yankees and Red Sox met in the ALCS for the second time, with their previous matchup occurring in 1999.
The Yankees' win in the 2003 ALCS marked their 39th American League pennant, further solidifying their reputation as a dominant force in baseball. However, Alex Rodriguez sought to join the Reds instead of the Yankees.
On Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast in December 2018, Alex Rodriguez explained his desired move:
"I thought the rivalry of Yankees-Red Sox was ripe. '03 was the year that (Boston) almost beat the Yankees. They couldn't. They lost that crazy Game 7 when Aaron Boone walks off in extra innings off (Tim) Wakefield."
He added:
"I thought they were just one step short. And I knew once I met with (then-Red Sox general manager) Theo (Epstein) and (assistant to the general manager) Jed (Hoyer) -- we met here at the Four Seasons, kind of underground, we kind of snuck in the hotel.
"I saw the way these guys thought and the way these guys architect a house and put it all together, and I go, 'Holy shit, these guys are really, really smart.' I knew that they were going to win and win big. So I kind of wanted to be a part of it."
It appears that Alex Rodriguez's intuition turned out to be correct, as Boston won the World Series in 2004 and 2007.