Before Alex Rodriguez became one of the most hated figures in Boston, he was on the verge of potentially becoming the next Red Sox hero. A trade that was supposed to send A-Rod from the Texas Rangers to Boston was blocked by the MLB Players Association, and apparently Rodriguez was just as depressed about that as many fans were.
In a recent appearance on the Barstool Sports “Pardon My Take” podcast, A-Rod was asked how he handled the 2003 deal being nixed. He said he was so disappointed that he got wasted and ended up throwing up.
“I was saddened by it. I went out one night, there’s this place called Life, and I just got toasted drunk that night,” Rodriguez recalled, as transcribed by CBS Boston. “I threw up, I was so bummed.”
A-Rod, who eventually went home and thought to himself, ‘Let’s go, gotta play ball,” said the biggest thing that drew him to the Red Sox was that he felt they were one piece away from beating the Yankees and breaking their infamous curse, which was in its 86th year at the time. Then he ended up being traded to the Evil Empire, and he understands why that helped the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry explode.
“And of course the Yankee thing happened, and I think because of that, when I go to Fenway for the first time as a Yankee, I mean, come on,” he said. “Nothing could be meaner or more cruel. I think that’s where the emotions started.”
Rodriguez also talked about how much respect he had for former Red Sox executives Theo Epstein and Jed York, who are the same age as him. He said he believed after having a secret meeting with them that they were “going to win and win big,” and that was something he had his heart set on being a part of.
If you want to get an idea of how deep the hatred for A-Rod runs in Boston, recall how they handled bidding farewell to him in his last MLB season. That said, Red Sox fans are bound to experience some mixed emotions when they hear him talk about how much he wanted to play in Boston. It simply wasn’t meant to be.
