Every individual’s choices define them, and the trajectory of their life will take. Some have the liberty to choose whatever course of action they wish; some have to settle for their lot in life. Baseball great Alex Rodriguez was not one of those. He wanted to play in Major League Baseball – he had a plan and skills that backed him. After a couple of seasons with the Texas Rangers, A-Rod was ready to move on. For a while, it looked like the talented shortstop would go to the Boston Red Sox next. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, the New York Yankees swooped in to steal him away.

Rodriguez would now play on the same team as his old friend Derek Jeter, who incidentally already filled the position of shortstop for the team. This meant that A-Rod had to shift to a new position, and he was given third base. Although each of the frenemies has spoken about how Rodriguez never expressed a wish to play shortstop instead of Jeter, the former shed some new light on the situation last year.

Alex Rodriguez wanted to compete against Derek Jeter as shortstops

Sportsmanship takes many forms. For two talented baseball players in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it took the form of rivalry. But although jealousy reared its ugly head in the case of A-Rod, he still held respect for his old friend. Last year, a docuseries on Derek Jeter’s life The Captain was released, where Rodriguez spoke about his time with the Yankees.

“I think the original plan was the best because it would have had me in Boston. It would have had him in New York. We both would have been shortstops, kinda going against each other,” the retired athlete said.

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Since Jeter was reportedly going through a slump at the time, fans thought A-Rod could take his place. But the latter stayed true to his word and only played at third base.

Jeter and Rodriguez could have had a feud like Messi and Ronaldo

The Yankees and the Red Sox have a legendary rivalry. If Rodriguez had ended up with the Boston team, the drama between him and Jeter would have only added fuel to the fire. But had things gone that way, Major League Baseball may have looked different today.

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Most notably, the Rodriguez-Jeter drama could have rivaled that of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two soccer greats doomed to be locked in a battle against each other for eternity. While history took a different turn, it’s an imaginary past that’s worth the speculation.