As most New York baseball fans know, anything with Alex Rodriguez comes loaded with drama and endless media coverage. The hopeful future owner of the New York Mets decided to take to the media in an attempt to steal the team away from Steve Cohen.
Are Mark Teixeira & Alex Rodriguez having a contest to see who can be more hypocritical & insufferable? Two guys who spent their entire careers trying to maximize their earning potential — as was their right — now spouting off about how players need to give in? #WearAMask
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 17, 2020
Rodriguez never has received a “no” for something he wanted, no matter what dirty tricks he has used to pursuit it. From his record-setting contract with the Texas Rangers, then trade to a contender, to playing through and fighting a well-deserved suspension, Rodriguez is a master of using the media to get his way and is attempting to do so once again. This time it is backfiring big time at him.
No Money, No Team
It became apparent that the A-Rod/J-Lo group lacked funds when they enlisted the help of athletes across sports to help their cause. A-Rod used the media game to vouch for a salary cap to put teams on an even playing field. Once again, the highest-earning baseball player of all-time is demanding a salary cap. Since he knows he does not have the money to spend like a New York team should, Rodriguez is attempting to find a way to level the playing field.
One of A-Rod’s former teammates, Brandon McCarthy, took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with his former teammate’s comments.
I hope to god he's shouted out of every clubhouse he attempts to enter in this and future seasons. Call him a self-serving liar and make him explain himself to a room full of his former peers if he wants broadcast content. https://t.co/U3aehFCWnW
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) July 17, 2020
Union rep Tony Clark also voiced his opinion saying, “Alex benefited as much as anybody from the battles this union fought against owners’ repeated attempts to get a salary cap.” This was not the only trick the Rodriguez team had up their sleeve.
The Race Card
One of the athletes involved with A-Rod is Bradley Beal. Whether Rodriguez had anything to do with it is still a question, but Beal put out a tweet involving race issues and Cohen’s “shady” past.
https://twitter.com/RealDealBeal23/status/1284117440780275712
It seems ironic that an A-Rod led group is talking about shady decisions. Rodriguez could qualify for the same category as Barry Bonds and Pete Rose when it comes to off the field issues that are keeping them out of the hall of fame.
Plain and simple, if anyone had the money to compete with Cohen’s wallet, a salary cap or race issue would not be a question. Baseball only has one minority principal owner and it is Artie Moreno of the Los Angeles Angles. The MLB, more than any sport, can better their diversity and has issues with it within the sport, but this ownership issue is not one of race.
The Guggenheim Baseball Management group, with Magic Johnson as their face, bought the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 as well. Johnson has a 2.3% stake in the Dodgers ownership, but his star power had a factor in making the group popular with fans. Should his side win, Beal will likely get the same percentage.
You ask yourself this question, $1.7 billion with a net worth lower than that or $4 billion with $13.6 billion net worth? They are both enormous amounts, but the Wilpons love money more than baseball, and the MLB wants an owner who can support a winner in their biggest market. The biggest factor for this entire sale is whether the Wilpons want to keep SNY (agree to A-Rod’s deal) or hand over any power with the Mets (agree to Cohen’s deal).
https://twitter.com/RealDealBeal23/status/1284117440780275712
Is Cohen the cleanest businessman who ever lived? No. It is hard to find someone with that much money who is completely innocent. Also, there are plenty of owners in the four major sports who are worst people; you can find a couple of them scattered in the New York sports scene.
If the A-Rod group could sniff the amount of money Cohen has, then the race card could certainly have weight to it. The extreme gap in funds, the timing of the statement, and A-Rod’s unpopularity from players throughout baseball are precisely why he is turning to plan B.
Also, think about this, Rodriguez can grab football and basketball players to join his bid, but why haven’t any former baseball players joined his quest to buy Flushing’s franchise?