Major League Baseball

Yankees players were blindsided by Alex Rodriguez's announcement on Sunday

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:07 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Aaron Torres

There’s no other way to put it: Alex Rodriguez’s announcement on Sunday that Friday would be his final day with the New York Yankees was shocking. As he explained to Fox Sports, this might not be the end of his career overall, but it does bring to an end, a wild and tumultuous 12 years in the Bronx.

Again, the news was simply stunning, as one of the game’s greatest players, is leaving the sport’s greatest franchise.

And understand the news wasn’t just surprising to us as fans, but also to some of his Yankees’ teammates.

That includes Mark Teixeira, who has been a teammate of Rodriguez since the 2009 season. Tex went on ESPN Radio on Monday and explained that while he considers A-Rod a good friend, he was completely in the dark about A-Rod’s decision.

"We knew nothing. I got to the ball park at, I want to say around 9:30 yesterday [Sunday]. I had a radio interview at 10 o’clock, and then Alex’s press conference was scheduled at 11.

So at about 10:30, 10:45 I saw Alex and just kind of, gave him a ‘what’s up.’ And even Alex, before 11 o’clock wouldn’t tell me. And he’s about as close to me as anyone on the team. So everyone kept it tight-lipped, which is great. That’s the way it needed to be. But I was surprised; I knew obviously there was some sort of decision, but I was surprised it had come to this because Alex has meant to so much to this game and the Yankees. And obviously he’s had his ups and downs, and didn’t want it to end like this."

And the last part of that statement might have been the most important: The ups and downs. Tex is the first to admit that his soon-to-be former teammate is flawed, but also said not to judge Rodriguez solely by what you hear in the media.

So Alex, for all of his flaws, he’s still a great teammate. I was actually telling my boys… I told my boys [sons], ‘listen, just because your friends make mistakes, doesn’t mean your turn your backs on them.’ I always hear people talk about Alex Rodriguez and me, Alex has been my friend for a long time and he’s made mistakes. But I’m not going to turn my back on him, and I’m going to continue to support him. Because he’s a great teammate and loves the game of baseball. I think deep down in there he cares about people. He really does. And I know this is a tough time for him, so we’re going to be there for him.

Simply put, this is fascinating information from a guy who knows A-Rod about as well as anyone. Understand, it’s one thing for us in the media, or fans, or even opposing players to have an opinion on Rodriguez. But it’s quite another to hear from someone who has worked with him day-in and day-out, eight months a year, for the last seven years.

As Tex said: Is A-Rod a perfect, flawless human being? Of course not, none of us are.

But is he as bad as some make him out to be? Apparently not, according to Tex.

What will be interesting to watch in the coming years is what the next step is for each of them.

As we mentioned above, A-Rod might not yet officially be done in baseball, even if he is done in the Bronx.

As for Teixeira, he announced late last week that he would be retiring at the end of the season.

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball