Getty Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez attend the world premiere of "Second Act" at Regal Union Square Theatre, Stadium 14 on December 12, 2018 in New York City.
Stop the presses! Alex Rodriguez wants to buy the New York Mets.
Appearing on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Rodriguez made it known.
.@AROD reveals he would be interested in buying the @Mets #FallonTonight
“I love New York City, number one,” said A-Rod, a Washington Heights native.
“A lot of people don’t know this, growing up I was a big Mets fan and with the exception of my daughter’s birth; both of them, the best years of my life were 1986 and 2009 when we [New York Yankees] won. So I will say this: if the opportunity came up, I would certaintly look at it.”
Spotrac notes that Rodriguez made approximately $450 million during his Major League Baseball playing career. He’d need a partner. “Maybe, maybe you could buy them with me,” Rodriguez told Fallon jokingly.
Recently, New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz sold a majority stake of the Mets to hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen in December. The deal backfired between two sides because of control issues.
According to amNew York’s Joe Pantorno, things went south in the negotiating process when Cohen balked at the Wilpons’ demands, which included Jeff remaining as the final decision maker for five years despite Cohen pouring his funds into the team.
Wilpon released a statement last month and stated that the Amazin’ Mets were still for sale. “As spring training begins, on behalf of ownership, we would like to share more information explaining why the proposed transaction has ended,” he said.
“However due to confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements we are unable to do so at this time. So right now, I believe we need to focus on the future and not in the past and that’s what we intend to do. We would like to assure our fans that we will continue our commitment to winning in 2020 and beyond and we’ll work hard to earn and maintain everyone’s confidence and trust. We’ll be moving forward to find a new transaction. We will not be giving details or updates on the timeline or process until we are prepared to make a public announcement. Thank you, that’s all I can say now.”
For those keeping score at home: Fred Wilpon has been majority owner of the New York Mets since 2002.
Here’s the irony of it all: If A-Rod did buy a majority stake in the New York Mets, a National League team, his Mets would play often against Derek Jeter’s Miami Marlins often.
The two were once Yankees teammates!
Rodriguez is currently a MLB analyst on ESPN and living his best life alongside his beau, Jennifer Lopez.