Alex Rodriguez wins the award for the best tit-for-tat-moment ever! Well, while this award does not really exist in the MLB, history has recorded the particular instance that will be indelible. This dates back to a 1996 game between the Seattle Mariners and the Baltimore Orioles. A-Rod, who was then a Mariner, responded savagely when “They tried to frustrate Alex a little bit”. 

When the slugger was disarmed, a friend and well-wisher came to his rescue. But ironically, the only man who stepped up to help the future New York Yankees star actually is the team’s prominent rival. Nevertheless, this paints a picture of how players’ bonds go way beyond team rivalries. So, the story unfolds as follows. 

When the Opponent Tried to Mess With Alex Rodriguez, He Responded With a Historic Hit

Close to three decades ago, a couple of years after A-Rod’s debut in Seattle, an incident occurred in the 5th inning. Orioles’ then-manager, Davey Johnson, ordered for the then 21-year-old’s bat to be inspected. Accepting the plea, the umpires examined his bat, suspecting it to be corked. With that, his bat was confiscated for the evening, but Ken Griffey Jr. handed over his bat to the “kid”. The next minute, he set afloat a dinger sticking it to the Orioles! 

With a 2-for-3 evening, he extended his career-best hitting streak to 17 games and raised his major league-leading batting average to .376. With Griffey on deck, the Orioles presented the 21-year-old shortstop, his first big league intentional walk tonight in the seventh inning. He had hit .509 that season against Baltimore with five home runs and 20 RBI. Johnson, whose team lost 5-1 to Seattle that day, admitted saying, “I didn’t want him to hit with that bat, not that I thought there was anything improper. . . . I definitely did it to mess with Alex. It didn’t work”. Amid all the theatrics, one genuine emotion erupted. That of true friendship. 

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Since the gesture that ‘Junior’ made for the disarmed Rodriguez, his respect for the former increased exponentially. The moment went on to become a stark memory for the 10x Silver Slugger Award winner, which he reminisces till today. There have been multiple occasions where the 14x All-Star has praised the Hall of Famer calling him a “cheetah”, “best mentor and teammate”, and more. However, ‘the kid’ despised the team that the world associates today’s 48-year-old star’s glorious days to. 

A Friendship That Goes Beyond All Rivalries

In his 2020 documentary ‘Junior’, Ken Griffey Jr. revealed why he detests the Yankees. During his MLB career, the star claimed he never signed with the New York Yankees because he felt the team had discriminated against him as a child. Here’s an anecdote: Griffey was told to leave the Yankees dugout by a security guard who said, “George doesn’t want anyone in the dugout,” while he and his father, Ken Griffey Sr., a legendary player himself, were inside.

Read More: “Best Teammate and Mentor”: Alex Rodriguez Pays Tribute to Legendary Yankees Nemesis on 54th Birthday

Well, what seemed like a trivial incident at the time, stuck on with the kid, who later went on to earn a respectful reputation in the Seattle Mariners. The documentary pulled out a moment from the past of Ken signing autographs. During that, he replied to a fan who asked him to sign a Yankees contract in the most honest and savage words. He declared, “If the Yankees were the last team … if they were the only team that gave me a contract, I’d retire“. Despite Ken’s feelings for the Bronx, his love for the Bronx Bomber – Alex remains uncompromised to this day! 

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