Boston Red Sox fans have booed Alex Rodriguez for so long many have forgotten why they even do such a thing.
MLB.com on Wednesday named the legendary infielder as the player Red Sox fans most love to hate. The roots of Rodriguez’s infamy in Red Sox Nation are grounded in his tenure with the New York Yankees, and MLB.com credits two incidents in 2004 for securing his status as Red Sox fans’ “favorite nemesis.”
“A-Rod was nearly traded to the Red Sox for Manny Ramirez in 2003, but the deal fell through at the 11th hour. Two months later, the Yankees acquired him instead, and Rodriguez emerged as persona non grata in Boston at a time the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry was at its peak,” MLB.com wrote. “Rodriguez’s status as the ultimate villain was cemented forever on July 24, 2004, when Bronson Arroyo hit him on the shoulder with a breaking ball, leading to a memorable fight between Rodriguez and Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. Three months later, in Game 6 of the 2004 AL Championship Series, Rodriguez hit a tapper down the first-base line. As Arroyo fielded the ball and tried to apply the tag, Rodriguez slapped the ball out of his glove. A-Rod was ultimately called out for his infraction, and the Red Sox won the game, the ALCS and the World Series. But Boston fans despised Rodriguez for the rest of his career.”
Rodriguez explained in 2018 he tried to slap the ball away from Arroyo because “it was worth a try.” His decision partially cost the Yankees the game, and they went on to lose the series, over which Rodriguez admitted this week he’s “still losing sleep.”
While being Boston’s MLB villain of choice probably won’t comfort him, the idea of his name remaining in the news cycle — via the ire of Red Sox fans or through his personal and business plans with actress and singer Jennifer Lopez — might ease the sting.
