23 years ago, on this day, the foundations of the feud between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were born. Alex Rodriguez, after making his MLB debut as the youngest Mariner at 18, entered free agency in 2000. In the free market, the already recognized and established slugger bagged himself a gigantic deal that changed the course of his baseball career.

Notably, in 2000, A-Rod signed a whopping $252 million deal with the Texas Ranger for a ten-year period. At the time, he broke multiple deals for signing the largest contract in the sport’s history. Even though A-Rod signed that lucrative contract, it barely did any good to him.

What regret was born following this contract signing?

The contract, with its massive monetary value, faced consistent criticism all around the MLB as it restricted multiple other deals of the Texas Rangers.

However, with the Rangers, A-Rod’s numbers only went upward. He won three consecutive American League Hank Aaron Awards and led the list of AL home runs for three consecutive years – all with Texas. He also continued his streak of winning the Silver Slugger Awards. Moreover, A-Rod smashed 109 home runs in 2001 and 2002 and won the AL MVP award in 2003.

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However, the future Yankees slugger decided to opt out of the Rangers deal. And years down the line, Alex Rodriguez has also spoken about how he wished he took his agent’s advice and signed with the New York Mets at the time.

The beginning of Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter’s beef

Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter started off as two really good friends. But A-Rod’s ego got ahead of him when he passed a needless and snarky comment after signing the record-breaking deal with the Rangers. The future World Champion’s comment focused on how no other player in MLB could bag a contract of such heavy value, and particularly mentioned the World Champion and eventual Yankees captain, Derek Jeter.

After that comment, their relationship stood forever strained. And eventually, when A-Rod became a victim of the steroid scandal, he lost all public sympathy, too. On the other hand, Jeter retired as the more respected, successful, and loved New Yorker.

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If you went back in time and had to offer A-Rod such a massive contract, would you do it at the cost of handicapping the rest of your franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!