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- [00:02]
Alex Rodriguez
You're listening to DraftKings Network.
- [00:11]
Dan Le Batard
After zoomies at the dog park, it's time for Drive up at Target. In goes a big bag of kibble and one squeaky chicken toy for the good boy. Drive up that's ready when you are. Only in the Target app. Just tap Target.
- [00:26]
Alex Rodriguez
Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile.
- [00:27]
Ryan Reynolds
Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.
- [00:48]
Dan Le Batard
Of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month. Required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com this episode is brought to you by State Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want, like that dream house or ride, is a great feeling. That's why the State Farm personal price plan can help you save when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with a personal price plan. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.
- [01:39]
Jimmy Patero
Welcome to South Beach Sessions. I am very excited that this man is in studio with me. I have known him since he is 17 years old, since he was drafted. I was at his mother's house, his his sister was making eggs and he was just a young man trying to figure it out. He is now one of, if not the best in the athletes in the history of South Florida, one of the best baseball players ever and a media tycoon and a business tycoon. You laugh at media tycoon, but I don't know a lot of people that got to work, especially after having some sort of controversy at both ESPN and Fox at the same time. I don't think there's a lot of precedent for that. Thank you for being here with us, Alex.
- [02:22]
Alex Rodriguez
Thank you. And I thank Jimmy Patero at ESPN and Eric Shanks at Fox for making that happen. And Rob Manfred was very helpful and I've enjoyed my time with both.
- [02:32]
Jimmy Patero
I want to this is what I aspire to. I don't know if we're going to get there or not, but I would like to have the most honest conversation I've ever had with you and I'VE done magazine stories on you and we've talked a lot over the years, but I know that you're very good at this. You're very good at the charm of television, at how you present. And so sometimes it can be a thicket to get in there near the soul of Alex Rodriguez, because you know how to share only what you want to share. So that's what I'm aspiring to. How do you think we're going to do?
- [03:01]
Alex Rodriguez
I think we're going to do well because we've known each other almost 30 years, actually. 30 years. Probably more now. Gosh, we're getting old, Dan. But two things I'm really bad at. What I need, I need your help, and we've talked about this over the years, is I'm a great audio listener. And that's how I learned, like, I love podcasts. I can't wait to, to see more of what you're doing. But I'm not a good writer and I'm not a good reader. Right. And you're one of the best writers on the planet. And when we're offline, I want you to give me some tips on how to become a better writer.
- [03:30]
Jimmy Patero
Writing's tough.
- [03:31]
Alex Rodriguez
Writing.
- [03:32]
Jimmy Patero
Writing is hard. It's lonely. It is a skill set. I mean, you've done. So is hitting a baseball or so is. But writing is a tough one. I think the most failed class in American colleges is English.
- [03:42]
Alex Rodriguez
When did you know you were an exceptional writer?
- [03:45]
Jimmy Patero
Well, in high school, I had tea. It was the first thing that teachers told me I was good at of anything I would say, in fact, I would say that, that that's the first time anyone told me I was good at anything because my, my, you know, father, who I was always trying to make proud, was very reluctant with his praise. Like a lot of interesting Latin fathers, you know, that you know, some of this. Rafael Palmero, Jose Canseco, pushed very hard by fathers who were very demanding. You. And I'd like to talk biographically at the beginnings of your life, estranged from your father. But what can you tell me about the earliest parts of your childhood that you, that you remember? What are the, what are the landmarks for you before we get to some of you?
- [04:29]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, it's interesting. You talk about your father, and I really like your father and respect him a lot. I really missed the show. He was awesome. But I think with me having an absent father, my father left when I was 10. I'll start there and then I'll go back to when I was born in New York. Dad left at 10 and left home in Westchester. I'll never Forget our address. 8250 Southwest 12 Terrace. Just a few blocks away from my elementary, Everglades elementary, and where I went to school with Javi Gomez, who now works for us as a chief legal at Abroad Corp. And JDR Tiaga, who just became the manager head coach for the baseball team at the University of Miami, which I'm thrilled for him. That for me as an athlete and as a human being was a gift and a curse. Pops leaving one. I think the curse is obviously you miss that. You miss the kick in the ass, you miss the mentorship from a father and just the guidance of just someone who loves you infinitely, I guess. Right. The gift was that I didn't have a crutch to lean on. I remember a lot of my teammates all had their parents. They would give them. I remember they give them hot dogs in the middle of the game, chips, nachos. Sometimes we'll get pizza in the fourth inning. And I was starving. I didn't have anyone to come give me any food, so I had to kind of do it my own. But going back, I was born in New York in 1975. Both of my parents, Lord isn't Victor. Victor has passed now almost 10 years ago. Both Dominicans, immigrants. I was born in New York at the age of four. Things started getting kind of a little bit rough in New York City. And we came to Dominican Republic for four years. And then once I started getting into like the third or fourth grade, mom thought it would be a good idea to get to Miami. So I've been here ever since, ever since I was nine years old, where I landed at the Boys and Girls Club.
- [06:20]
Jimmy Patero
What was your life like in the Dominican? Or is that too far, like your earliest memories on stuff, on what you had and what you didn't have, what love felt like, all that stuff. Like, what are the things, where are the early places that you associate with? Maybe happy childhood or. Yeah. Was it a happy childhood?
- [06:36]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, I think it was very happy. And I think because the, the main theme in my life was sports and even though we were humble financially, you know, I always had big dreams. And those dreams kind of revolved around sports. It didn't matter what color you were, what language you spoke. Um, it matters if you can contribute to a team. And I just like that it was like, okay, this is great for my self esteem. If I can actually have a good attitude and be a good player and help us win. There's always going to be a spot for me. And that was great. Um, but yeah, I think I was a pretty, I would say, happy child. Yeah.
- [07:15]
Jimmy Patero
Your mother, you were telling me before we started here, is now 88 vibrant, drinks you under the table. You cannot keep up with her. What was the imprinting left by your mother and your sister in raising you in a house that didn't have male. Male leadership. Yeah.
- [07:32]
Alex Rodriguez
It was interesting. My first eight years of my life, the first four were in New York, the next four were in Dominican. So I had a pretty good framing of how things were in New York and Dominican. They were completely different. We lived in an apartment in New York where my father had a shoe store in our apartment. And every woman within three or four miles would come to buy shoes for my father. And I've had so many people over the years say, hey, I used to buy shoes from your father, which is kind of neat.
- [08:01]
Jimmy Patero
You lived behind it, didn't you? Didn't you?
- [08:03]
Alex Rodriguez
We lived 183rd in Amsterdam, a block away from Yeshiva University. And, you know, that's when kind of my dream started. Thinking I had two dreams as a 10 year old boy as I used to watch the games after my father was done selling shoes all day. My dad would smoke two packs of cigarettes a day, Dan. And he would drink about 24 beers every day and complete alcoholic. But I never saw him scream, I never heard him curse, I never heard him raise his voice. Now, my mother, on the other hand, is where I got my grit and my toughness.
- [08:38]
Jimmy Patero
From Chancleta.
- [08:39]
Alex Rodriguez
Big time. Quick story on my mom. Across the hallway from our apartment in New York, I was probably four. I remember there was a big time drug dealer that lived right across who was tough as nails and everybody feared him. And you did not want to get in the crosshairs with this gentleman. And he did something where they did something that was a little bit disrespectful to my sister. I don't think it was a huge deal, but it was probably like they intimidated her or probably they raised their voice. And my mom gets home from work and she hears us at dinner and around 9 o' clock at night, she goes banging on this guy's door. And now I'm thinking, I'm four, I'm thinking, we're all dead. I mean, this guy's gonna come with a machine gun and just take us all out. And he goes, if I ever see you pointing at him, if I ever hear you talk to any one of my kids, especially my only daughter, you and I, Mr. Are gonna have a problem. And I'm thinking, okay, we're dead. At least I have a father. My mom's dead. And he literally backed off and said, you know what, Mrs. Lourdes, apologies, my fault, don't never happen again. And I'll give you one better. If anyone messes with your family, they're going to have to deal with me. So that was the start of my mom, you know, having conviction and. And holding her ground.
- [09:53]
Jimmy Patero
For those who don't know Spanish. When I said chancleta and he said big time, I was talking about Hispanic mothers who throw flip flops as a way of discipline. Did you need much discipline? Were you a good kid? Were you unruly?
- [10:07]
Alex Rodriguez
I was a good kid, Dan. And you know, early on, you know, now fast forward to when we were 12 and dad left at 10. I remember going to Publix in Kendall, and the Publix is right there, 137th and around Miller. And I remember going, my mom at that time had two jobs. She was a secretary in the morning, served tables at night. Atlanta, America, right in front of Tamiami. I think it was 97th core away. And they had the best, you know, biste, hey, Empanicado. Oh my God. With rice and beans and Maduro's. It was incredible. And I remember going to Publix and we were at the check in line where we're paying, and I saw some funny money and I go, wow, the only time I've seen that is like monopoly. It was like red. And I said, mommy, okay, so what is that? And she was embarrassed to tell me. And of course it was government money, right? And it was at that time when I was 12, where I said, okay, you know what? I'm the youngest of three. And I got to get my ass in gear because I got to help out mom. And mom was not a young mom, she was an elderly mom and was working way too hard. So that was the first time then that I had a little reality talk about the gift and the curse of not having dad around, that I knew I needed to be a good kid. And that meant three things. One, I had to be a good student to be able to get a scholarship to Columbus or Westminster Christian. Number two, I had to be a good player to contribute to earn that scholarship. And three, I had to be a good kid. So my friend's parents were thought I was a good enough kid to have them around their kids. And that way I can get a ride home because I wasn't 16 yet and I didn't drive. So those are the things that started from that Publix event.
- [11:47]
Jimmy Patero
When you talk about government money, I almost associate you word association with money as almost smells like money, looks like money, makes money. Money was something important to you. I don't know whether it was validating to you at all. I do remember the specifics of Kevin Garnett signs the biggest contract in sports, 126 million. And you signed for exactly double that, not a penny less. Exactly double the biggest contract in the history of sports. What is your relationship with money? Were there any insecurities there early on with money?
- [12:21]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, it's funny because I think that was a. A Scott Boris production. I. I didn't know at the time, but I'm sure the 2x above Kevin Garnett, the irony of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the double. I'm sure that was a Scott Boris production. I never asked him, but I'm sure there's something there. You know, one of my favorite interviews, Dan, that I've ever seen, and I've always been a big fan of your writing first. I mean, people don't realize you're one of the best writers around because your media career has been so, so good and so, you know, front and center with ESPN and others was the interview with Pat Riley. And Pat Riley is a great friend and one of my great mentors who I have so much respect for. Pat and Chris Riley, both of them have been great to me over the years. And you said something to him about like, don't let the fancy suits, you know, kid, you. You're a New York street baller, right?
- [13:13]
Jimmy Patero
A Schenectady, tough tie like he was. He's. He was. Yes. It's all. It's all packaging. Armani packaging. I've been meaning to ask you actually, this question. I'll let you finish in a second, but at one point, I heard that you and he were the only two people anywhere to be found in either America or sports who can walk into any Armani place and take whatever they want without much issue. In terms of your fame, Armani wanted you decked out in Armani.
- [13:41]
Alex Rodriguez
There is some truth to that. It wasn't exactly get whatever you want, but we had a. I think a massive discount, which we kept very quiet for a long time because Mr. Armani did not want that word to get out. So I'm very grateful for that. Yeah. So my relationship with money, Dan, is one that. One of my great passions in life is financial literacy. Because one of the things that I see A lot of my colleagues in sports and even acting and people in Hollywood, that is not the strong suit is financial literacy because they haven't spent a lot of time doing it. Just like writing or speaking reps is paramount. Right. And I knew that financial literacy was my way out of that funny money that I saw and witnessed when I was a 12 year old boy at Publix. So I think at the beginning there was some imposter syndrome. Obviously I didn't go to a famous, you know, fancy school. I didn't have, I don't have my mba. Ironically, now I'm going to my sixth year of teaching the number one class at Stanford Business School, which is called strategic pivoting, which is another story. But I think education is power and I think a lot of times I don't know where it comes from, but people try to code finances so much that they make it much harder than what it really is. I think baseball does the same thing with all these acronyms. And really at the end of the day, instead of saying a 5 cap, I'm going to buy this 5 cap, this beautiful building we're in, instead of just saying is a 5% return, right? So you put a hundred dollars, you need $5 back, it's so much easier. So one of the things that I want to do is really democratize investing. Financial literacy is the only way that we can really empower our future and ensure that we have a good life after sports.
- [15:23]
Jimmy Patero
Strategic pivoting is what, what is the class?
- [15:25]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, I mean, you've done one, Dan. I mean, I've done one, right. I've gone from strategic pivoting from baseball, professional baseball, to media to business. You've done it from being an employee at ESPN to now being a media mogul yourself. Right. And working with John Skipper. And you have this great, I wish you would have came to me because I would have loved to invest with you. So this, the pivot for you probably wasn't as scary today because you're north of 45 years old, but if you did this pivot at 25, it would be daunting and scary. So a lot of kids that come from these great universities, they have so many options. And a lot of people are pivoting from politics to business, from business to education, from education to social work. And we teach them how to make that pivot, how to signal to the community why you're changing. Because a lot of times we assume that everybody knows why Dan Levertard went from ESPN to his own media company. You got to go out and signal to the community this is why we're changing and why so that way they don't make up their own mind of or assume that something bad happened perhaps. And we kind of walk you through all those processes.
- [16:33]
Ryan Reynolds
You know, guys, it feels pretty good when you accomplish something you've, you've dreamt of. For a long time, I've been feeling really, really lucky to not just make it to 30, but to be doing all of the things I ever wanted to do, including working here on the Dan LeBatard show with Stu Gatz. And when you think about it, the origins of this show were once just a dream for them. That dream turned into the show and business that you're listening to today. And starting your own business is a dream that lots of us share, but too many of us just let it remain a dream. Don't hold yourself back thinking, what if I don't have the skills? Or what if I can't do it alone? Those what ifs turn into why nots? With Shopify by your side, Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, including 10% of all U.S. e commerce. Whether you're Mattel or you're just getting started, Shopify's got your back. Not a web designer, not a problem. Shopify has beautiful, ready to go templates. Need help with the details? Their AI tools can enhance product images, write descriptions, and even generate discount codes. Worried about finding customers? Shopify makes marketing easy with email and social media tools. And if I ever get stuck, Shopify's award winning 247 support is always there. Turn your big business idea into With Shopify on your side, sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com Batard go to shopify.com, shopify.com but.
- [17:56]
Stu Gatz
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- [18:34]
Alex Rodriguez
Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York, call 877-8-HOPENY or text hopeny467-369 In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill casino in resorting Kansas, 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. For additional terms on responsible gaming resources, see DKNG co audio.
- [19:02]
Jimmy Patero
You mentioned financial literacy. As an observer of you from afar, I have not asked you this, but I have always thought that you were somebody that because you were so great at baseball and were not able to go to college, that you had a little bit of. I don't know if I thought imposter syndrome is too strong, but an insecurity about. I want to put my name on the University of Miami and I want to donate big because I want people to know that I'm educated, that I, that I, I'm not someone to be trifled with just because I had to go work on baseball and couldn't work on my studies. Like, how much of that is there?
- [19:40]
Alex Rodriguez
I think a lot. I think, I think imposter syndrome is not too strong. Dan. I think, you know, the two institutions that made an enormous impact in my life were the University of Miami and the Boys and Girls Club. And I sit on both boards at the national level. And part of why I wanted to give, not only, you know, a lot of people can write a check, but, you know, the thousands of hours that I've put to give back to the Boys and Girls Club, including a board meeting for a couple hours this week.
- [20:07]
Jimmy Patero
They raised you right, the Boys and Girls Club. They saved you. One could say, well, saved might be too strong because you had, you had love at home, but you found family there.
- [20:17]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, but at home, everybody was busy working, trying to pay the rent. The rent when we got here was $550. Our landlord was called Alberto, a Cuban man, Very, very nice man. It was a four bedroom. He lived in one and we lived in the other three rooms. So a lot of my, my grit, my determination, my motivation comes from. I remember how it feels to not have the 550 to pay that rent every 30th day, the first of the month. So I think a lot of it came from that.
- [20:47]
Jimmy Patero
Did you know when you were growing up, exactly what you wanted. Because when I talk about the thicket that is getting closer to you when you were younger, and I don't know how much this has changed over the years, but when you were younger, I feel like even when you were winning MVPs younger, that you were searching for how it is to behave as a professional icon so that people would like you. That you would ask Michael Jordan a bunch of questions about how do I do this? And he would tell you, you know, touch writers on the knee, call them by their name. Like you asked a ton of questions of people because you wanted to be perceived a certain way. I thought you were trying to find your voice and sometimes that got you called a phony or whatever because people thought you were insincere because you were trying too hard to be liked.
- [21:41]
Alex Rodriguez
I think it's all accurate. You know, Dan, I think therapy has completely changed my life. And I've been in therapy for 12 years now. I know you had an awful death in your family, which condolences to you and your entire family. I don't, can't even imagine how that feels. And I know you've been dealing with a lot. I lost my therapist a couple years ago and he died out of nowhere. He had a heart attack. And that was an enormous blow to me because he's been such a source for me. You know, Dan, what happened was a lot of people forget. You don't of course, because you were there. But I was one of three people in the history of the game to be in the big leagues at the age of 18, myself, Tony LaRussa and one other that I can't recall his name right now. And I was 18 years old. I looked like I was 28, but I had the emotional maturity of a.
- [22:29]
Jimmy Patero
12 year old, a boy.
- [22:30]
Alex Rodriguez
And while all I did was my 10,000 hours like the outlier in baseball, I fell behind emotionally. I fell behind with my education. And remember I have this big vacancy because pops left at the age of 10. And it wasn't to some of my trials and tribulations. I got older and dealing with Dr. David with some of these issues, unpacking what happened when I was 10, 11, 12 years old and rewiring my brain that I did not need to search anymore. The big aha moment was, you know, what God made in me was enough, whether you like it or not. And Dan, what I was doing, and you probably remember this because you knew me personally and then you saw what I projected and there was a delta, there that was pretty big. And today, what you see here, we're just having the conversation the same, like, I'm not changing, right? And that came through years and years of therapy.
- [23:25]
Jimmy Patero
I don't know that there is. I do therapy as well. I've done a ton of it. I've had a lot of recent breakthroughs just because the pain has caused a great deal of growth. Because sometimes you don't learn things until you're hurting. I don't know what led you to therapy, but I would imagine you being. Wanting to be liked a whole lot and then having everything fall apart in front of people. I would imagine that didn't help. Like everything that was happening to you, public, publicly, with steroids. But if I could have. One thing that I'm always searching for in therapy that I know will make me happier, but I always struggle with. Is how I can be lighter on myself, how I could be more forgiving, giving with myself. I. I struggle with that because I had a father who didn't do pleasure, and I was always trying to please him. And the little boy in me also didn't grow up very much because he was just trying to please a man who didn't do pleasure. And then I was never good enough. I just. In my own head, I'm never good enough.
- [24:23]
Alex Rodriguez
Makes total sense.
- [24:25]
Jimmy Patero
What were your. Where are your breakthroughs that aren't too personal? Like, some of the things I don't know, what led you there? I was presumptuous, you know, when I.
- [24:31]
Alex Rodriguez
Got suspended in the year, I sat out the entire 2014 season and about 15 of us got suspended. I was hoping that we all got the same suspension for around 50 games or so. And I ended up getting 162 an entire season. And while I was really, really, really bummed at that time, it was a blessing in disguise because it was the first time since I was 15 years old when I walked into Westminster Christian as a rising sophomore, where Rich Hoffman looked at me and said, you know, you're going to have a good year this year as a sophomore. Then you're going to go play in the junior Olympic teams as a rising junior, and you're going to be the number one junior in the country. And then the next year, you're going to be the number one pick as a senior. And then I literally looked at as a pool was in my left and the baseball field was in front of me and Westminster Christian campus, I looked behind me and I go, coach Hoffman, are you talking to me? I just got cut from Columbus, where They didn't want me to play baseball. They wanted me to play basketball.
- [25:31]
Jimmy Patero
And this is the number one school in Miami. Like, this is a powerhouse of all powerhouses. If he. If he's telling you this, this is the amateur coach in our region who you'd most want to hear it.
- [25:40]
Alex Rodriguez
This is Duke basketball, and this is Coach K. Talking to me. If you're playing basketball. Right. And it meant so much to me. And again, that was five years after dad left me at the age of 10. And I'm saying, okay, if Coach Hoffman believes in me. Kind of like your teacher told you that you were a great writer in high school. I said, okay, those words sound good to me, and I'm gonna do everything in my power from now on to make sure that you're right. And that was one of the biggest breakthrough. And then the entire year, going back to the suspension of 2014, I had the entire year to actually turn the lens inward and start doing some work on me. And what happened to me and what was that like?
- [26:18]
Jimmy Patero
Because. Because you do have it. Okay.
- [26:21]
Alex Rodriguez
Oh, boy.
- [26:22]
Jimmy Patero
Yeah, this was hard. This is where the good stuff is, though. You're telling me you don't regret it, And I get that. Like, I, I. This is the worst pain I've known, what I'm presently in, but I know, and I felt it more and more recently, and I've never understood it until feeling it, that there is absolutely growth on the other side of pain. But most people don't choose fear and pain, and you didn't choose it. It happened like, you. You chose the part that got you in trouble, but you didn't want it ever seen. And now. And now the specifics, Alex, because this. This I felt for you here. And someone who cares this much about how he's perceived always looks great, smells great, gives off great, now publicly it unravels, and now you're left with the shame of that. So how long were you in this space and how long was it before you arrived at something that felt like, I'm grateful for that?
- [27:14]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah. It took a couple years of intense hard work. I would go to Evergreen, Colorado, where Dr. David lived, and you arrive on Sunday afternoon, and Monday at 9am you go in, and that goes Monday through Thursday, 9 to 5pm no lunch break, hardly a bathroom break. And it's just hardcore intense working where the scar tissue was incredible, the pain was torturous. But I started getting back to a point where I started to, you know, forgive some of my actions and started liking the person in the mirror. And Dr. David said something to me in the early days where, I mean, we would look at each other sometimes, Dan, for three hours and not say a word to each other. It was like, can we curse on this thing? I would say, like, inside. I wouldn't say him, but I'm like, you know, fuck off. Why. Why are you. Why do you want to know so much, right? And why are you being so tough? And it. Honestly, in one way, Dan, when I look at my career, my mistakes probably is going to cause me the hall of Fame. But in the other side of that, I'm a much happier human being. I am a better father, I'm a better partner. I'm a better son and brother, and hopefully someone that can open doors for people with black and brown skin like myself. And I sit on many boards where I'm the only person of color in Latin. And it's my job to leave that door open and let others in and create opportunities for others.
- [29:05]
Jimmy Patero
Why did you do that kind of therapy that intensely? Like, was somebody worried about you? Were you going a little bit it crazy? Was it like, alex, you need to go. This doesn't have to be, like, not once a week. You need to go immerse yourself, and you need to be introspective. You haven't been introspective enough.
- [29:23]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, I just knew that the mistakes I was making, I was imploding for no reason. Like, I had hundreds of millions of dollars guaranteed to me. I didn't need to make a mistake. In my career, I probably averaged north of 40 home runs, north of 120 RBIs over 23 years. And the fence that I served an entire season, I didn't hit 45 home runs or DRE. I've been driving 125 runs. I hit six home runs, and I drove in, like, 14 runs. So it was a horrific mistake with no reason to do it. And that. That's why I said, okay, you know what? Not only am I destroying my baseball career and any legacy that's left of it, I'm going to screw up my life. And I have two young daughters. So it sucks that I have to ruin this legacy, but I'm certainly not going to ruin my life and the ability to be a father to two young daughters that need me. And I certainly don't want to be Victor Rodriguez that walked out of 10 and was not. Not a factor in my life. I needed to save this part of the. Of my world.
- [30:39]
Jimmy Patero
You know that you're happy now because you like yourself more how much self loathing have you done where you don't like yourself and some of the damage you may have done in relationships because you don't know yourself well enough and because you don't know why you're doing certain things that you do.
- [30:57]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah. I think you come to a place, Dan, that you look back at the mistakes and, and the things you did in your 20s and early 30s and you, you cringe, you're like, what the am I doing? What is, what is this? And, and you know, you go through.
- [31:11]
Jimmy Patero
So much temptation though, Alex. Like, how's a boy gonna get all the things that you got and, and not fall into all manner of holes if you're arriving at the major leagues as a boy?
- [31:23]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think part of the therapy was kind of unpacking all of that and searching and then you come to a conclusion. Like, I'm trying to be something that I'm not and people don't like me anyways. I might as well be exactly who I am and people are not going to like you anyways. So it's one of those things that you get with age and you do get some wisdom. And then I think about my grandma who's passed now over 15, 20 years ago, and all the little things she told me, you know what? She's undefeated. She's never been wrong. All these things, like little things, like wisdoms. If it hasn't happened by midnight, it's probably not gonna happen. Get your butt home. All these little things, it's just. Wisdom is incredible.
- [32:08]
Jimmy Patero
What have you learned about love in all of its forms with your family, with your children, with relationships, friendships?
- [32:19]
Alex Rodriguez
I think love is so important. And love is. Patience is key. There's no form of love. And we were talking about love and grief and missing that can compare to the love that I feel for my daughters. Now I understand why my mother feels the way she does about me and my two siblings. But I think the biggest thing, Dan, when I wake up in the mornings now, I have two prayers. One is to make the ego smaller and to enhance self awareness. And those are the two things.
- [33:03]
Jimmy Patero
You've really done some learning, dude.
- [33:05]
Alex Rodriguez
That got me in a lot of trouble. Right. My ego was a bit out of control and sometimes very out of control. And then my self awareness, what it was like at zero.
- [33:13]
Jimmy Patero
But you needed ego too. Like you need. You're in a competitive world. Like your ego gets fed, it gets rewarded. Like ego. Ego brought you great things, but not happiness.
- [33:25]
Alex Rodriguez
Right? Right. And you look, I mean, pre and Post suspension, when I think about happiness, they're completely different. And then, you know, man, it was never like I mistreated people. I wasn't, like, driving around in Ferraris and trying to be that guy. But it's just subtle things that the ego gets a little bit out of control. And before my suspension, I looked at winning as, you know, big contracts, you know, maybe have a nice car, home runs, you know, winning championships. That was. And when I think about how winning looks post my suspension, is being a present father, is being a good partner, is creating opportunities, is paying it forward to the University of Miami and the Boys and Girls Club, but never did. I think that at the age of 48, I'll be mentoring over 50 athletes. And today, Dan, we can all get to each other so quickly, Whether it's through Twitter or Instagram or LinkedIn or someone that you have in common, they'll email you. And what I'm so proud of is that there's men and women out there that are doing great things that have the confidence to reach out to me for help, just like I reached out to Magic Johnson. If it wasn't for Magic Johnson and the meeting that I had with him 25 years ago where he laid out his plan. We met for over three hours.
- [34:43]
Jimmy Patero
Business.
- [34:44]
Alex Rodriguez
Nine pages of notes. Business. How he transferred and pivoted the strategic pivot from his Laker days with Pat Riley and Showtime to the boardroom. And if it wasn't for him showing me and the proximity to Magic. Here's a man of color who had a Hall of Fame basketball career who's now a Hall of Fame business person. I said, boy, if Magic can do it, why can't I?
- [35:08]
Jimmy Patero
Is there anything in there when you say, I wince now, looking back or I cringe looking back, what. Is there anything that flashes on you where, like, why was I such a fool? Like, what was the matter with me? Anything in particular that you're thinking of there?
- [35:20]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, Anything to do with that whole Biogenesis mess. I remember us talking. I'm like, how the fuck did I end up in this mess? Like, I have no one to blame but myself. But those are the subtle things that you just kind of slip a little bit. And once you slip a little bit, then there's no coming back. I mean, that was the most painful time of my life. Humiliation, embarrassment, letting people down, starting with my mother and my daughters or my brother and my sister. I'm like, what am I doing? And you have to surround yourself with great people. And you are an average of the five people you surround yourself with. So as I think about my life today, I mean, my circle is so tight and you just can't get in it. And when you see the great ones, the Pat Rileys, you know, the Jordans, John Woodens, Coach K. Whoever, they have a very, very tight circle.
- [36:13]
Jimmy Patero
Who helped you the most when you were in the most pain?
- [36:16]
Alex Rodriguez
Dr. David.
- [36:17]
Jimmy Patero
How about loved ones?
- [36:19]
Alex Rodriguez
My daughters? I would say Cynthia, who is the mother of my kids. We were together for 13 years. I was married to her for five. Cynthia has a background in psychology, has a master's in it, and she's been, she's still my greatest friend and biggest supporter, and I am hers.
- [36:38]
Jimmy Patero
I always thought you guys had, you had a super supportive relationship in and out of like, I can't even imagine the stress test that that whole experience was for her as she knew you when she knew, like she knew you before all the child.
- [36:54]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah.
- [36:55]
Jimmy Patero
Like she, she. In fact, as I recall, and forgive me if I'm overstepping here because I don't know what the relationship was, but I do feel like she was taking care of you in a lot of ways. Like just that, that you were not yet grown up. You had to concentrate on being great and she was just from afar, super supportive of what it is you were building.
- [37:17]
Alex Rodriguez
It was funny because we were together in our early 20s and I just looking back at now, we're way better friends than we were a married couple. And I wouldn't say there was anything like really bad that happened. It's just we were better friends and we made a decision to be co parents and good friends and give an opportunity for us to meet somebody else. And now she's met an incredible guy, angel, also Dominican. They have a young daughter, Cami, who's seven. And we're all like the Brady Bunch. We travel together, we spend holidays together, and it's just a beautiful thing. And I wish other broken couples that are co parents can have this type of cohesiveness, right? And then when I look at my life, it's just, it's like an oxymoron, right? There's so many things that I've done poorly and then there's other things that I look at, you know, with my relationship with the community. Giving back to the Boys and Girls Club, University of Miami. I've been on that board when Donna Shalala put me there almost 20 years ago. And the father that I am today is just weird and it's strange. There's a lot to unpack.
- [38:22]
Jimmy Patero
You also don't want to be the dad you had, right?
- [38:24]
Alex Rodriguez
No, that was my number one motivation. Sometimes the best examples is seeing someone that you want to do exact opposite.
- [38:34]
Jimmy Patero
Of what he's done because of the damage, you know, was done there. Like what, what. But what do you think of when you think of. I don't want to be those things beside Bey being present or not getting the 24 beers and two packs of cigarettes a day. Like, what are the things that you're proudest of? Making sure I am not going to be that. Because that left scars on me I would not want to leave on anybody.
- [38:55]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, there was. There was some. I would say there was a few things that my dad did well that I learned from. I mean, we do have commonalities around baseball and business. He was really good with numbers. He always wore a suit and tie to sell shoes. I see myself with some of the characteristics that I admired about him. But I'm now convinced at the age of 48, father of two daughters, one who's a freshman in the musical theater program at the University of Michigan, who's thrilled to be there, and my sophomore, Ella, who's a Gulliver. Right. And I'm not sure. Dan. And I wonder. I want to. I'm going to present the question back to you is I am now convinced that it is almost impossible to maximize your potential as a human being without a present father and without intense therapy, because I was lost without one. And I kind of found my way with Dr. David. What are your thoughts there?
- [40:04]
Jimmy Patero
I mean, that's super interesting, right? I turned my bosses into. Into father figures trying to get the. How do I please this person? Like I would say it's part of why it is that I became successful because I was trying to reach a bar that was never going to be reached with my father in a way that was going to feel like pleasure to me. And so I would try to try to please bosses. I. But my father was suma mente present. But my mother was sort of propping up my father. My father went to work and came home and she propped up the idea of we have this figure in our house who is the one to be followed. Because that's pretty Latin. It's pretty stereotypically Latin. And she helped create for me something to. To try and please. But what led me to therapy like this one was a. A bit of a mind bleep. My father, over the years has had a couple of. Just a couple of things that have happened, one of which, many years ago, this Is the first time I ended up in therapy. My father had a breakdown and I. When he was on a cruise. I'll tell you when he had the breakdown. So he has the breakdown. He loses his job at 57. He's been in his past. He was rejected by his own mother. The losing of the job comes in at 57. Work is all that matters in our lives. Comes in one day and all of the stuff that was on his desk is in a garbage can. You're done, whatever your identity is or was out of here. He has a breakdown. We're going to visit him at a place where there are, you know, human beings clucking like chickens and stuff. And as we get there, my mother passes out in his arms. And right then me as a Hispanic, I'm going to say boy. But I was early 30s, like, but I'm not grown up yet. I'm like, oh, I gotta like this. It's. I gotta go, I gotta go look at some things. Like I haven't grown up. And so both of those things were helpful to me. But I didn't get to those places. I had to do all sorts of things before I got there and I. And I had to be pushed into it. Like I don't know if I would have ever chosen therapy on my own. If I was just sort of skipping through life blissfully ignorant. I don't know if you would have chosen it if you'd simply kept hitting home runs and there was no shame and, and you might not have ever gotten to happier. You might have gotten to the hall of Fame with nobody knowing anything about anything. But the learning would have been lost in it because I don't know that you would have. I don't know how many people choose betterment just for the hell of it when they've already arrived at what they think success looks like.
- [42:46]
Alex Rodriguez
No, that's good. I mean, that's why one of my favorite books is Good as the enemy of great. Right? Is from good to great. And the first line in the book is good is enemy of great. And I do believe that. And I think the irony about therapy is that when you have an inflated ego and you have very little self awareness, you have what is called the blind spot. And the blind spot does not allow you to think that you actually need help because the ego is. It's like the sun brights too bright on you. And when you don't have self awareness, you have very little vision that's peripheral that can help you. So that's why you need really, really great people around you to say, hey, buddy, you know what? You do need help. And when I think about as a kid, I believe that you're a byproduct of some of the things that you have, and you're a byproduct of some of the things you lack. As an example, my dad left at the age of 10. Therefore, for whatever reason, I gravitated to powerful men that were older. And from age 10 to 25, I had three coaches, which is crazy. I had Gallo, Eddie Rodriguez, the Boys and Girls Club. He's been there now for over 40 years. And all the players chardable, they all went through their Palmero, Canseco. Then he handed me over at 15 to Coach Hoffman. And then Coach Hoffman handed me to Lupinella to the age of 25 until I left for Texas. And then in the business community, I've had mentors like Maddox Johnson, Pat Riley and Warren Buffett. But that's always been a common theme for me, to have us kind of really good people to help me, you know, educate.
- [44:40]
Dan Le Batard
On WhatsApp, no one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat, we're trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast. Your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone.
- [45:09]
Alex Rodriguez
The McDonald's snack wrap is back. You brought it back. Ranch snack wrap, Spicy snack wrap.
- [45:16]
Jimmy Patero
You broke the Internet for a snack?
- [45:19]
Alex Rodriguez
Snack wrap is back.
- [45:24]
Jimmy Patero
If I were to ask you when and how do the girls, your daughters, move you the most? Like, what are the instances in which a rod will be made a blubbering mess because he's just filled with love and gratitude, because that's that. Because his daughters give him the greatest feelings known to man that are the closest thing to God someone can feel on earth. If one doesn't believe in God.
- [45:47]
Alex Rodriguez
Well, I think I do believe in God. And even though I'm not very religious, I'm spiritual and I, you know, obviously keep that private with my own, you know, involvement. I think my daughters just, you know, I think just when I see them, even though they grew up much differently than I grew up, obviously with a lot of blessings that they are both their feet are grounded, that we've done this thing that we started in Covid called our breakfast club on Sundays, which is from 8:30 to 10:90 minutes. No phones, no iPads, just old school conversation. Same thing at dinner every night. One conversation. And practicing listening, empathy, compassion, listening more than you talk. And then obviously, anything that they accomplish, not so much on, but just the way you treat people and the way they comport themselves. I mean, that to me, that's when I. Oh, for sure, I'm the proudest. And, yeah, I can't even think about. I mean, my daughter just graduated from Ransom last year and it was a hot mess. And then I dropped her off, Dan, in Ann Arbor, and I'm dropping her off in her dorm room now. Remember, I never went to college, and I'm helping her unpack and have insecurities.
- [47:24]
Jimmy Patero
About never going to college. So now the daughter you raised, the daughter fucked up Alex raised, is now.
- [47:32]
Alex Rodriguez
Walking into Ann Arbor, one of the greatest colleges and institutions, you know, musical theater program. And then. I've never done laundry in my life. I'm in the dorm room folding things, putting it in the washing machine, which I'm ashamed to say I've never done that. Or dryer. And it was just so much fun. I posted it on. On Instagram and had a lot of fun with it. And. And then I have Ella, which makes me think, boy, I only have three years before she goes out into the world. And, I mean, she already thinks dad is very, very uncool and not funny. When they used to think dad was funny and all my jokes would land. They don't even look up at me anymore.
- [48:11]
Jimmy Patero
What was it like? I had this conversation with Marcellus Wiley recently about how he looked into the eyes of his children and he thought he could be better for them. And you mentioned something about whatever the shame felt like around your family, what was happening there with them, that. That Daddy's fallen apart. Daddy. Daddy feels terrible because he's brought shame upon. He's brought shame.
- [48:37]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah. I mean, one of the days that it really hit me, Dan, is we were at the time living in Miami beach in La Gorch island, and the suspension just went public.
- [48:54]
Jimmy Patero
Like $5. That's a $5 fine.
- [48:57]
Alex Rodriguez
Four.
- [48:57]
Jimmy Patero
That's $10. That coughing in the microphone. We have a. Oh, yeah, we have a fine system. I don't know. I don't know if you still carry cash or not or everything's caught.
- [49:04]
Alex Rodriguez
I don't. But I'm used to fine. So I can pay it. I can pay it. So the couple days before, they had just announced my suspension for 162 games. And it was myself, my two daughters, and Denise who helps me Help me raise my daughter. Daughters. And Cynthia as our nanny for 15 years. She's an incredible woman. She's part of our family from Jamaica. Then. Then we call her. And I remember waking up before them. I was having a little coffee, and I usually have the New York Times, the Herald, Post, Wall Street Journal. I have all the papers set up at my breakfast table. And then tv. I usually watch cnbc. And all of a sudden I look at all the papers and every one of them not in the back page. I'm in the front page. A Rod suspended for 162. What an embarrassment. He's a pariah. Everything you can mention, I said, denden, put these things away. Throw them away before the girls get up. And then I said, let's just put on the tv. CNBC was talking about it. So I said, change that put on. At the time it was Matt Lauer and it was Charlie Rose, and it was all, these guys are not on TV anymore and they're talking about. I said, well, turn that off, too. So they. I would go wake him up. And I was like, holy smokes. Had to turn off the tv, put all the papers away. And then I realized that I needed to be forthright with them, appropriate for their age, obviously. And I remember sitting down in my office and, you know, coming clean and just saying, daddy made a mistake. And when you make mistakes, there's consequences. And I'm serving the longest suspension in Major League Baseball history for PED use. And Cynthia was with me. And I said, cynthia, I'm going to probably break down somewhere in the third inning of this conversation. Do you mind if I hand it over to you and then I'll close? And I was going to be Mariano, right? The starter and the closer. I needed the middle anyway.
- [51:05]
Jimmy Patero
Right, right.
- [51:05]
Alex Rodriguez
And sure enough, in the bottom of the first thing, I start breaking down. Cynthia takes over. And I said, cynthia, they're going to be listening to me, but they're going to be looking at you. And we need to be aligned here, because I need your help. I need your support here. And the reason why I thought, Dan, that was so important. And this came from Dr. David. He said, you've been bullshitted your whole life, and you have to stop that cycle. You have to be forthright with your daughters, and that's really important. And I think if you do that right today, as a result, later on, when it's time for them to be honest with you, hopefully they can reciprocate. And it was a tough moment. And I'm so Happy that I did it.
- [51:47]
Jimmy Patero
Bullshitted your entire life how bullshitting yourself for.
- [51:51]
Alex Rodriguez
No, I, I just surrounded my. In a house where nobody told me the truth. Right. Part of it was because they probably didn't want to put the weight on me that we didn't have the rent money that was due in three days or that my father wasn't the hero that I thought he was or you know, my brother and sister probably faking it till they made it and it was a short term fix. But I don't think it's sustainable for the health, the mental health, the development of a young person and in this case, my two daughters. I thought through Dr. David's help that I've been extremely honest with them even through the toughest moments, in the darkest hours.
- [52:41]
Jimmy Patero
I will move on to other subject matter, but is there a feeling that you think of that represents rock bottom more than that one? Because you painted a pretty vivid picture of sort of running around your house trying to, trying to hide things from your children. Is there anything that you look at in there and that compares to, to that? And the reason I ask you the question about what rock bottom looks like is because I, I want to also talk about what the ascent looks like and, and the other things learned in there. Because if the, if the gift is that you're happier and you love yourself more and you're self confident, then you'd almost go back and choose it. If you can do it in some ways, like if you're, if you're grateful to, for it. You know what I mean? Like that, that if there's no other way to learn some of the things that needed to be learned other than suffering the maximum pain. Yeah, they're worth learning.
- [53:36]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah. In a weird way, I don't think Dan, I would draw it up this way. And it has been, it's been nine, almost 10 years since my suspension, but, but I think a decade removed from that and all the work that I did a little before that and to this day with my therapy, I think I've done a pretty decent job of learning some very painful lessons and then applying them over the last 10 years. And I'm very, very proud of that. I'm also proud of how I fathered my girls, my relationship with Cynthia. I have an incredible partner in my life who we've been dating for over a year now. Her name is Jack. She's a former nurse and is now in the world of, you know, health and Wellness. She has two daughters. You know, we have over 500 people that work at a Rod Corp. Own a professional NBA team. I mean, I'm living the American dream, Dan. I come from the very bottom, and it's just remarkable. And I really think that none of this happens without me falling on my face and having those dark days.
- [54:47]
Jimmy Patero
It's a hell of a strategic pivot, though, because not. There aren't a lot of stories in the history of American media or athletics where you can go from famous to infamous to. Then you're still employable, and you're still someone that people want to be associated with, that the pariah stuff is temporary, that it. That it fades.
- [55:11]
Alex Rodriguez
Well, I think of the lesson for, hopefully a lot of people that are listening, right, that you don't have to be defined by your biggest mistakes. I mean, how you come back matters, too. And I would actually say how you can. How you come back is most important. And not to give up. I mean, you're talking about a guy that. We talked about the resiliency of a guy like Pat Riley. I'm a pretty resilient guy, too, and pretty gritty. But I gotta tell you, in my darkest hour, there were many times that I thought about tapping out.
- [55:42]
Jimmy Patero
Oh, really?
- [55:43]
Alex Rodriguez
And given up. And given up. And I never thought that the word give up would be anywhere near synonymous with me. But it was dark, and I was ashamed. And I felt that the only thing that mattered in my life growing up was to be a Major League baseball player and be part of this incredible institution. And to think I was pariah 101 to the league was. It was heartbreaking. And I. I was confused on how I got myself there. But what was most important is that I took full accountability and have no one to blame but myself.
- [56:19]
Jimmy Patero
What do you regard in your baseball career as the happiest time, the best year, the best six months, the time that you were. Because it doesn't sound like any one of those years might be as happy as your best year now if you're sort of slogging through it, trying to figure out what happy looks like.
- [56:38]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, I think I would say two. I would say when I got the call from George Steinbrenner that he wanted me to join his Yankee team and to, you know, come team up with Derek Jeter and agreeing very quickly that I would move in the prime of my career as the better shortstop. Why just one?
- [57:02]
Jimmy Patero
I'm saying that for you, you don't have to say, but you were. That you were the better shortstop, you know, by the metrics. And you moved to third base. You went to Third bas because he's the captain and it was his team.
- [57:14]
Alex Rodriguez
Well, and I think Derek would be the first one to tell you that if he came to Texas, he would have moved to third. And you know, respect is something that I, I believe in. I gave him my word that I was going to play third base and third base only. And I just said, made it very clear. I said, if there's ever a conversation about me going back to shortstop, I'm going to go back to Texas. Because I wanted to honor Derek and I didn't want any drama around the position. And I went over and worked really hard at third base and became a suitable third baseman. So I think George calling me over Steinbrenner and then obviously 2009 bringing the world championship back to New York for the 27th World Championship in one of.
- [57:57]
Jimmy Patero
The most franchise after struggling in postseason, in pressurized postseasons like after after year after year, you're one of the best players in baseball and now people are, you know, accusing you of mental frailty because baseball's hard and sometimes people hit.200 in a 14 game sample.
- [58:14]
Alex Rodriguez
Dan I don't see it that way. And again, this is where I think having some space from that time, the truth is when you're one of the best hitters in a lineup, you get circled and they come at you with everything they have. And sometimes the best thing you can do in the World Series. I think Gary Sheffield did a nice job of this and Barry Bonds did too. You got to just take your walks. And once I realized that it wasn't about me and it was about we and it wasn't about what my stats were, but I would literally drive to every playoff game with Andy Pettit because he was my neighbor in Westchester and he would help me out and he was at this time a four time world champion. And he pitched game six, which was a game six that we won. He pitched great game and handed the ball to Moriano against the Phillies and Victorino made the last out Granbada canoe to Teixeira, the Yankees world champs for the 27th time. As Joe Buck said, it was incredible because it was like a masterclass from one of the greatest champions that I've ever met in Andy Pettit, where he would talk to me about hitting, pitch selection, what the opposition was thinking as they were facing me and then I would reverse it and he would ask me, okay, what do I have to do to beat the Angels to beat the Twins and ultimately to beat the Phillies. And Dan, it was some of the most enjoyable hour. Conversations, driving to the ballpark, no phones, just old school conversations. And he really helped me become a champion.
- [59:52]
Jimmy Patero
What do you regard as the most honest, accurate appraisal that you can make of the relationship with Derek Jeter? It's a long time, it's complicated. I don't know what can be known or what can't be known. But when I ask you honest and accurate, that can be said publicly, what happened there?
- [60:13]
Alex Rodriguez
Well, I would just say that right now we're in a great place. He asked me to go to dinner about a year ago almost today when his documentary came out and we went to have drinks right near our home in South Miami. And we sat down for a couple of hours and had some drinks and, you know, talked about a lot of great things. But our history is rich and is goes back a long time. We met when I was 16 and he was 17. We met at Marklight Stadium and he had signed with the University of Michigan, I had signed with the University of Miami. So we had a lot of commonalities. That's where his agent, Casey Close, who's still his agent, was trying to talk to me before I chose Scott Boris. And in that 30 plus year history, we've had some ups and we've had some downs and I think the media was obsessed with our relationship in New York. It was a very meaty story in negativity sells and big names sell and the Yankees sell and the controversy around the position sells. So it was a mega media story. And he did a nice job of being super disciplined. I wasn't as disciplined and it created some noise. But through it all, what I remember is great player, he was good teammate, we won a championship together and now we're teammates again at Fox, doing playoffs and World Series every year.
- [62:00]
Jimmy Patero
Were you at all surprised that that phone call came, that he wanted to just have dinner and drinks? Is it something that's unusual or is it because this plays out publicly? There's a lot of. There's so much vanity, there's so much insecurity. I don't even know if you're documentary. Well, if he's got documentary, I gotta have a documentary because I had a pretty good career too. I don't know how much competition there is between you and I don't know what your issues are with the media. Like what the issues. I'm curious what you think is the worst thing about sports media? Because we can be parasitical.
- [62:32]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, so? So, I mean, I think his documentary was fun. It was, it was good. To watch, but in many ways, up, up and to the right. I mean, there was a lot of celebration. Mine is going to be a lot of volatility. Right. So completely different.
- [62:45]
Jimmy Patero
More interesting. No, no, no, no, no, no.
- [62:48]
Alex Rodriguez
Volatility for sure.
- [62:49]
Jimmy Patero
I'm saying more interesting if, if negativity sells, I'm going to say, yeah. If volatility is better than just up and to the right all the time.
- [62:57]
Alex Rodriguez
Well, yeah. So, yeah. And I think, look, it's interesting. When I was at my first couple of years at Fox, you know, then I got a much better understanding how the media works. And in 15 and 16, I was still playing while I was with Fox and I said, holy smokes. I wish, and this is an advice that I would give to all athletes that are listening, especially the young ones. I wish I would have done a media internship with Fox for a couple of years when I was in high school to then reverse engineer and understand how the media works. I played because I was very. I was an infant when it came to dealing with the media. I just came out of Westminster Christian a few months later after my high school prom. I was at Fenway park as an 18 year old when I should have been a freshman at the University of Miami playing quarterback and shortstop. I was facing Roger Clemens completely over my skis. My knees were shaken. It was the first time I saw an upper deck. I mean, we had 400 people at Westminster Max, right? So it was a lot of growth. It was like turbocharged. And I just was not ready for that. I don't know if any 18 year old could be ready for that. Maybe LeBron, I mean, he did a great job. Kobe, these are all guys that I'm friends with. Tiger woods came out early, but I think all of us that came out early, there is one common theme. We had some ups and we've had some downs.
- [64:22]
Jimmy Patero
What came with money that you weren't expecting?
- [64:26]
Alex Rodriguez
Freedom Eyeballs? Jealousy? Anxiety? No. Yeah.
- [64:38]
Jimmy Patero
Why anxiety?
- [64:40]
Alex Rodriguez
Why anxiety? Because again, you know, from the age of 10 to 17 when I became a millionaire and the Mariners made me the number one pick in the country, and my mother and my sister Susie negotiated a $1.35 million contract, I didn't have lessons in life on how to distribute, how to help out my family, who gets what, what to save, what to spend, what to invest in. This is new territory for me. I was training to be a baseball player and I was barely keeping up with that. You know, if you think about it, most people, if they're lucky enough to make $1 million. Usually it happens with a college degree, after marriage, kids, maturity, and usually you're on the other side of 40. Here I am at 17 with here's a million dollars, here's fame, here's expectations, and then you got to go deal with it.
- [65:40]
Jimmy Patero
Jealousy, what did that bring? What does that look like? What is happening that is making you feel that jealousy goes before anxiety on something that money brought.
- [65:56]
Alex Rodriguez
I just think, you know, the higher you go on the flag pole, the more people are taking a look at your back end, right? And there's more chatter, there's more conversation. You have to be, you know, careful, spend, you know, a little bit more low key things that you, you don't really, you're not prepped for it. And when you're, I mean, you saw it. I mean, you, you came to be a star very early on and you have a much different perspective today than when you were in your.
- [66:21]
Jimmy Patero
Oh, I didn't know anything. No, I didn't know. I didn't know anything.
- [66:24]
Alex Rodriguez
We're going and learning at the same time, right? And we're trying to do the best we can and generally we're good people, but.
- [66:29]
Jimmy Patero
And what you're doing though, requires your obsessive compulsive attention in a way that sort of so lopsided that other parts of you atrophy. I don't even know how functioning and balanced a human being you can be. And great at sports the way that it took as much work as it did to be as great as you were at the that sport.
- [66:50]
Alex Rodriguez
100. I mean, the obsession has to be like, you know, off the charts. And usually when you look at the great ones that have done great things, you have to be obsessive. You know, you have to work on it 24 7. You're thinking about it. It affects your sleep. You got to wake up and work out. You got to keep producing. Is just this whole thing about work balance. I've never seen one at the highest level be really good at that too. Maybe that comes later on in life, but I remember my conversation with Kobe, conversation with Tiger, Jordan, Magic, LeBron. We've all had this drive that in many ways is probably not the healthiest approach.
- [67:36]
Jimmy Patero
Warren Buffett too, or does he have something, I mean, he's older, so does he have something that more resembles balance? Has he arrived at something that's different than that?
- [67:44]
Alex Rodriguez
Warren Buffett is the most obsessive and most focused, smartest and simple thinker that I've ever met. He's a perfect example With Warren Buffett, he's a perfect example of, you know, the most obsessive, relentless, focused, unwavering conviction to what he wanted to do. His father would drop him off when he lived in Omaha as a young child. By the age of 11, he would drop him off every Saturday and Sunday in the library. He would spend all day there. And Warren read every financial book in the library by the age of 11, made his first investment around the age of 12, and has been obsessed ever since. And you do this, and Warren does this. I believe he's the greatest, smartest financial mind alive. He's in his 90s. He still goes to work five days a week. He said, my only adjustment, I used to read nine hours a day. Now I'm able to read three to four hours. And now he studies a lot in YouTube. But he's kept it simple, and he's kept it simple, and that's exactly what Jordan and others have done in their space.
- [69:05]
Jimmy Patero
I'm going to let you go in a moment here. I have a gift for you. I have had metal arc media. Spare no expense in this gift that I'm going to give you, but I know because it's important to you to pass along your wisdoms. I asked you if there was anything that you wanted to make sure that people knew about and that you were promoting. And I was surprised to hear that gum disease. I didn't. I thought that there. I thought 500 employees at a rod corp. I thought it would be something else. But you wanted to talk about gum disease because you want people to know something perhaps that you didn't know that you now know.
- [69:39]
Alex Rodriguez
Yeah. This is kind of crazy. I mean, first of all, I'm so proud to partner up with Oropharma. We've been partners now for over a year. And in one of my visits to the dentist, I found out I had gum disease. And of course, the first thing you think is like, oh, my God, gum disease sounds terrible. And the good news, I caught it early and it's, you know, treatable. And then I started digging in and finding out that over 65 million Americans have gum disease. And then I realized that is even more prevalent in our communities, Black and brown communities.
- [70:15]
Jimmy Patero
Where are you advising people to go beyond their local dentist to get help here and information?
- [70:22]
Alex Rodriguez
Well, you can go to arrestin.com for more information.
- [70:25]
Jimmy Patero
A R E S t I n.
- [70:27]
Alex Rodriguez
Correct.Com and go see your local doctor.
- [70:30]
Jimmy Patero
You have perfect tea. You. You have. I mean, your smile. You're saying you get away with a lot on television because you have that smile, and it's pearly, and everybody loves looking at a rod. Let me not waste any more of your time here. I do appreciate, as always, that you made the time. I have not seen this gift, so I'm gonna now notice for the first time. Let's see what they've gotten us here. Come on, man. This doesn't look anything like him. This doesn't look anything like him. Here you go. This is.
- [71:04]
Ryan Reynolds
Oh, my gosh.
- [71:06]
Jimmy Patero
This is the. It's ridiculous.
- [71:09]
Alex Rodriguez
I mean, first of all, I wish I had that body. And second, I wish I was so handsome. That looks nothing like it in the face.
- [71:15]
Jimmy Patero
It could not look any less like you. But it is rumored and reported that you had one of these. I.
- [71:22]
Alex Rodriguez
By the way, let me say that this is actually really funny, because you don't know how many times in my career I had to answer that. I had something like this above my bed, and it's so infamous a story, and I almost don't deny it anymore, but I think it's actually kind of funny.
- [71:40]
Jimmy Patero
You can now have it. You can now have it over your bed.
- [71:42]
Alex Rodriguez
Now I can make it a reality.
- [71:45]
Jimmy Patero
Alex, it really has been a joy to watch your growth almost as much as it has been to watch your play. It's very cool to see you feeling this confident, this confident for real. I don't want to ask you whether you care what others think anymore, but it seems like you're carrying a hell of a lot less what others think.
- [72:05]
Alex Rodriguez
Oh, thank you. I mean, I think even more important than confidence, I think I'm in a happy place and I'm content where my life is and really excited to continue to give back and continue to help people in need. That's really one of my greatest passions. And continue to talk about financial literacy across, especially our community and minority communities that need a lot of help.
- [72:27]
Jimmy Patero
Thank you, buddy.
- [72:28]
Alex Rodriguez
Thank you. Proud of you as well.