All A-Rod All The Time

Sporting News, The, June 28, 1999 by Michael Knisley

Even now, neither Rodriguez nor Griffey can breathe a word that isn't being sent off to an FBI crime lab for analysis of the evidence it might hold about their futures. In Detroit, the newspaper carries speculation about the Tigers' interest in A-Rod. Talk is hot in New York about a trade to the Mets. The Dodgers are always a possibility. Wouldn't he like to play near his home in Miami? The Yankees don't need a shortstop (Rodriguez's good friend, Derek Peter, plays there), but he'd sure look good in pinstripes at third base. You'd think it would be a burden, except that neither Griffey nor Rodriguez appears to be affected on the field-they're both having All-Star-caliber seasons.

"Eighteen months," says Griffey, who will be 30 in November and is better-equipped than Rodriguez to fend off these ad hoc investigations. "I just tell him, `Hey, you've got 18 months. Don't say anything. Just go out and play. You're not going to make up your mind fight now, because it's impossible.'"

The relationship between Griffey and Rodriguez is difficult to get a grip on. There is mutual respect on the field, unquestionably. There is friendship off it, obviously. On a Friday night, well after the Mariners' 7-3 win over San Francisco, Rodriguez spots Griffey's 5-year-old son in the clubhouse, about to leave, and calls to him. "Trey," he says, "come here and give me a hug," and he whispers to the youngster as they embrace.

But the team, maybe even the city, may not be big enough for both players much longer. When Rodriguez was just breaking in, Griffey was the perfect, teammate/icon, siphoning off the spotlight so the kid could get his feet wet in the big leagues. Now, Rodriguez is ready to be The Man somewhere. As long as Griffey is a Mariner, that will be difficult in Seattle.

"We've never had a falling out," Griffey says. "It's like a big brother-little brother relationship. I try to make sure he keeps right. I mean, my wife always tells me, `Make sure you take care of him.' His mom and my mom talk every time they get to see each other. This is a lot different than growing up in a college or something. This is on-the-job training."

It might take a $200 million offer to lock up Rodriguez, who will be 25 at the start of his next contract. That kind of money doesn't sound like Seattle, especially with Griffey expected to command nearly as much. If $200 million seems outlandish, try to remember how inconceivable Kevin Brown's $105 million deal with the Dodgers seemed a year and a half before he got it. An intriguing sidelight: Brown and Rodriguez both use agent Scott Boras.

"I don't know how I deal with it," Rodriguez says when I suggest the constant scrutiny about his future may be troublesome. "I don't have an answer for that. I've never been under such a microscope. I guess the way you deal with it is to be honest with people. You speak from your heart. But I don't know. I'm not experienced with this. It's not like fielding a ground ball or hitting the curve. I guess I sit back and weigh all my options. It's another 18 months, and we'll see what's to be."