“Best Teammate and Mentor”: Alex Rodriguez Pays Tribute to Legendary Yankees Nemesis on 54th Birthday

Baseball is a sport where bonds and friendship surpass team rivalries. While the teams compete against one another, the players, truly, learn from one another. Such is the story of Alex Rodriguez and a fellow former baseball player. Though A-Rod is from a team that the 54-year-old hates, he praised the latter saying, “..he’s like a cheetah”. 

Having played together early in their careers, the 14-time All-Star claimed that he learned immensely from the “big”, “strong” and “athletic” Seattle Mariner. And today, on his 54th birthday, the 3X AL MVP profoundly appreciated his beloved former teammate. 

Alex Rodriguez Shares a Heartfelt Message for His Former Teammate

The ever-so-active-on-social-media Alex Rodriguez, took to Instagram to heartily wish Ken Griffey Jr. a happy birthday. The post included a snippet from the past when the two played for the Mariners before Alex went ahead with the New York Yankees. He captioned his post with the sweet words, “Happy Birthday @therealkengriffeyjr. Thank you for always being the best teammate and mentor🐐”. This clearly sums up the sentiment between the two of the most prolific players of their times. 

Soon after Rodriguez joined the Mariners, he was quick to learn how much Ken validates his bat speed. He often recalls a time when Griffey had even given him his bat and told him to “use this, kid.” When the 2X Gold Glove award winner held the 34-inch, 31-ounce, triple-lacquered Louisville Slugger it felt familiar. When A-Rod asked the Hall of Famer about why he chose this particular bat, the latter’s response was thoughtful. He said, that it felt like the Easton bat Rodriguez had swung in high school in Miami. And with that, the two forever united in the spirit of sportsmanship and affection that the considerate deed sparked. 

Alex Rodriguez’s admiration for the 13X All-Star was so great that he even said, “People forget that he was the Michael Jordan of baseball for us; he was the face of baseball.” A few years after his tenure in Seattle, Rodriguez moved to the Bronx. Do note that Ken has been vocal about disliking the Yankees. But why? 

Ken Griffey Jr.’s Dislike For the New York Yankees

In 2020, Ken Griffey Jr.’s documentary ‘Junior’ featured a discussion of his feelings towards the Yankees. The star claimed that because he believed the New York Yankees had discriminated against him as a child, he never signed with the team during his MLB career. Recalling a time from the past, when Griffey and his father, Ken Griffey Sr., were in the Yankees dugout one day, a security guard told Griffey he had to leave because “George doesn’t want anyone in the dugout“. 

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Griffey Jr. emerged from high school as the first overall pick in the 1987 MLB Draft. And soon after that, he was in the Major Leagues at the age of 19, quickly rising to prominence with the Seattle Mariners. The documentary also highlighted a time of Ken signing autographs and his response to a fan’s request that he join the Yankees. His words could not have been more overtly hostile to the Yankees. He said, “If the Yankees were the last team … if they were the only team that gave me a contract, I’d retire.” Notwithstanding that, Rodriguez and Junior remain friends to this day.

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