Alex Rodriguez was a top-tier free agent in 2000, off to a superstar beginning to his MLB career with the Mariners.
It’s no secret that Rodriguez and the Mets talked that winter about potentially coming to Queens, but those negotiations fell apart when New York general manager Steve Phillips ended talks after reported demands that included a marketing staff, luxury box, and use of a private jet.
Rodriguez told Evan and Tiki on Thursday that those reports were wildly exaggerated, when he in fact told his agent that he would take a 50 percent pay cut to be a Met.
“I told my agent Scott Boras that I would take a 50 percent haircut to come to New York and play for the Mets,” Rodriguez said. “I just thought it was a perfect story, for me personally, for the Mets, for baseball.
“I told them pay me 50 percent less, and I woke up to the New York Post headline ’24 plus 1,’ and I said ‘No, I don’t want anything, I want less.’”
When asked what caused those discussions to fall apart, and lead Rodriguez to the Rangers and eventually the Yankees instead of the Mets, Rodriguez could only say that he wanted to be a Met.
“I was never told the real story…I don’t want to speculate,” Rodriguez said. “But I was bummed. I was a Met fan growing up…I thought it would be an awesome fit.”