ARod wants to ‘come back’ to Seattle to thank Mariners fans
Jul 16, 2024, 10:32 AM | Updated: 2:06 pm
Alex Rodriguez spent the first seven years of his storied MLB career with the Seattle Mariners, playing a huge role on some of the most exciting teams in the franchise’s history.
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Things didn’t end well for ARod in Seattle, however, as he was booed every time he returned to the city in either a Rangers or Yankees jersey after he left the M’s for a record-setting 10-year, $252 million contract with Texas after the 2000 season.
As the saying goes, time heals all wounds, and in Rodriguez’s first-ever interview on the Seattle Sports airwaves Tuesday morning with Brock and Salk, he was hopeful that enough time has passed for him to return to the city and celebrate his Mariners memories with the fanbase.
“I’m disappointed that things ended the way they did,” Rodriguez said to hosts Brock Huard and Mike Salk. “And I hope that one day with new ownership now and management – which I have a very good relationship with, I’m a big supporter of the Mariners, I follow them closely on TV, obviously the guys who do your TV work are really, really good – I hope that one day I get to come back and celebrate, at least thank the great fans of the Mariners for what they did for me.”
Rodriguez, who is now an MLB analyst with FOX, also spoke about how unique Seattle Mariners fans are compared to other franchises in the league.
“The fanbase over there, they’re very special, they’re 1 of 1. They’re also passionate, they’re also very smart, they’re very loyal,” he said. “… They’re not just the Seattle, Wash., fanbase – it’s the whole Pacific Northwest and including parts of Vancouver and some of Canada. So it’s an enormous fanbase, they do tremendous TV numbers, the loyalty is very sticky. And again, I wish that one day I have an opportunity to go up there with my daughters and thank them.
“I still think about my No. 3 jersey that (I wore with the Mariners) … I thought we had some of the most fun, exciting teams, built a lot of young people’s memories – Brock, like yourself. And from the bottom of my heart, I just want to say a big thank you and good luck, and go get a championship this year.”
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Early in the interview, Rodriguez was asked about his perspective on the Mariners’ current young superstar, center fielder Julio Rodríguez, whose numbers have taken a dip far thus in his third MLB season. ARod said something in that response that stood out to Brock Huard, who as a college football analyst is a FOX colleague of ARod.
“The Pacific Northwest was some of my fondest times,” Alex Rodriguez said. “I know Julio loves Seattle. I certainly miss the Mariners, the Mariners fans are absolutely best in class, and I think he has a unique opportunity to be a Hall of Fame player, win a championship, and to do it all in one city would be incredible not only for Julio but for that great fanbase up there.”
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Huard went back to that last point later in the conversation.
“I was here for all of that extent of your career,” Huard said, “and you said for Julio, it would be great to play all in one place – have a career that’s all in one city. Is that a reflection a little bit on on your past and some of those decisions?”
Rodriguez then shared his perspective on the position he was in when he hit free agency before the 2001 season.
“Honestly, I saw my mother collect food stamps at the age of 12. I came from the very bottom, right? So my hero was my mother. When somebody offers you $252 million – this is not an indictment towards the Mariners or towards me or towards anybody. Look, a kid that comes from the projects, really, how do you say no to quarter of a billion dollars in the year 2001? Maybe some of your listeners would. I couldn’t.
“I had a responsibility to my mother, to my family, and it was a decision I’m proud of even though I missed Seattle tremendously. I had tremendous stability there, fanfare was incredible.”
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Salk had a follow-up question.
“Is there anything about that decision in that moment that people don’t know about that you wish they did?” Salk said.
Responded Rodriguez: “I mean, look, (the Mariners) were just outbid by almost $200 million. … It’s funny, that’s just the time. I look at the bigger contracts you’re seeing in the NFL, in the NBA and Major League Baseball, and today they’re celebrated. When I got that deal – and Brock, you remember – I was like ‘Pariah 101.’ I was like the epitome of greed, and I thought that was unfortunate. And in many ways, maybe I think Kevin Garnett and myself were a little bit ahead of the curve where we were villains instead of heroes. Today when players sign big contracts, they’re like heroes. And that’s kind of a cool thing.”
Brock and Salk airs weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM, the Seattle Sports app and SeattleSports.com. Listen to the full conversation with MLB legend Alex Rodriguez in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.
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