Alex Rodriguez is a New York legend, thanks to his playing career with the New York Yankees. Imagine this iconic Pinstripes figure making a move to the other NY-based team, the New York Mets. It’s a colossal “what if” scenario that, as A-Rod mentioned, he was eager to transform into reality.

After the 2000 season, Alex Rodriguez became one of the biggest free agent in MLB. During that time many teams were after him, one of them was the Mets. It is only now that Alex has revealed just how close he was to joining them. On the WFAN Sports Radio with Evan & Tiki, Alex recently described his readiness to resort to unexpectedly extreme actions to achieve his ‘Mets’ goal.

Alex Rodriguez was ready to take a pay cut for the Mets

In 2000 Alex Rodriguez was a big star post his stint with the Seattle Mariners. It is a well-known fact that he was in discussion with the Mets to become a part of their team. The discussions halted when the then-General Manager of the Mets Steve Phillips ended it.

The GM cited the reason for the halt were the unusually high demands of A-Rod, namely, a marketing staff, luxury box, and permission to use a private jet. Now 23 years later, Alex himself has revealed that he did not really make that many demands.

In an interview with Evan & Tiki on Thursday, the 3x MVP shared that he was even ready to take a pay cut to join the Mets. “I told my agent Scott Boras that I would take a 50% haircut to come to New York and play for the Mets, I just thought it was a perfect story, for me personally, for the Mets, for baseball….”, he revealed.

Rodriguez also told about his plans to recreate an iconic basketball rivalry with Derek Jeter. He said “I grew up watching Magic and Bird.. you know I thought, Jeter A-Rod would be fun but it didn’t work out that way…” Alex also shared that he was a Mets fan growing up and so was really interested in joining the team.

Due to the failure of his discussions with the Mets, eventually A-Rod ended up joining the Texas Rangers signing a then-record contract of $252 million for 10 years. Three years later, he finally got the chance to play for New York with the Yankees. However, his struggle to be with Mets though was not over yet.

A-Rod’s bid to buy New York Mets

In 2020 Alex Rodriguez got another opportunity to become a part of his favorite team from his childhood. This time not as a player but as a potential owner. He then placed a bid to buy the New York Mets with his then fiancé, Jennifer Lopez. However, he failed to get ownership as his bid got rejected.

Read more – In Another Display of Rekindled Friendship, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez Capture Memorable Moment With MLB Legend Mr. October

Nonetheless, it showed that A-Rod still wants to be a part of the Mets, his love for the team remaining strong. Still, to think of him in Mets jersey is unusual. How different would his career have been? The fans would wonder the same question.

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