Former Big Leaguers Doug Mientkiewicz and Alex Rodriguez weren’t just New York Yankees teammates; they played on the same high school team as well.
Mientkiewicz said on the “Foul Territory” podcast that he and other high school friends keep in contact with a group chat, but Rodriguez has distanced himself over the years.
“I don’t care how good or how great you become, how far your career goes; you never forget your high school dudes,” Mientkiewicz said on the podcast. “Your high school and your college teammates are brothers to the end.”
Mientkiewicz talked about how his high school, Westminster Christian School, honored their coach for his historic wins and Rodgriguez showed up, but he fell asleep in a chair.
“I always said that he is going to die a lonely man,” Mientkiewicz said. “This father of the year stuff, God bless him for his daughters because he’s gotta come a long way but it’s like you’re just trying to get into heaven now.”
Mientkiewicz and Rodriguez were on opposite teams when the Red Sox had their epic comeback in the American League Championship Series and defeated the Yankees after trailing three games to none. It wasn’t until 2007 that Mientkiewicz and Rodriguez shared a dugout.
Mientkiewicz explained on “Foul Territory” that Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada told him they wished they had gotten him in the clubhouse earlier because Rodriguez was different when he was around. He also added that Rodriguez used to have kids carry his equipment and that apparently irritated Mientkiewicz and that other players and teams allowed Rodriguez to act that way.
Both Mientkiewicz and Rodriguez each have a World Series Championship. Mientkiewicz with Boston in 2004 and Rodriguez with the Yankees in 2009.
