Alex Rodriguez Rangers contract repeats in Juan Soto's record contract

DALLAS — That’s exactly where it happened, upending the baseball world, infuriating executives and publicly threatening to ruin the sport forever.

This led to the dismissal of a respected managing director a year later. This contributed to the owner falling into financial difficulties and eventually being forced to sell his team nine years later.

It was the birthplace of the opt-out clause.

And it instantly made a 25-year-old baseball player the richest athlete in sports history.

The date: December 11, 2000.

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The time: 1:30 a.m

The Location: Room 633, Anatole Hotel, Dallas, Texas.

It was the moment the Texas Rangers agreed to a 10-year, $252 million contract with shortstop Alex Rodriguez.

“How can I forget this?” said former Rangers GM Doug Melvin. “How can anyone forget?”

Now, 24 years later, history repeated itself in the same hotel.

This time it’s Juan Soto who signs a record 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets.

And once again, especially from the small and mid-sized markets, you could hear cries into the Texas night, cries that the sport was broken and that there were worries about a walkout in 2026.

Scott Boras, the man who negotiated A-Rod’s and now Soto’s contract, can only laugh and will tell you it’s a smart deal that will only increase the value of the franchise.

“I think the process has been very misunderstood,” Boras told USA TODAY Sports of the prosecution of Rodriguez. “If you look at the added value, it was economically beneficial to the franchise even if the Rangers didn’t win. It was definitely team-friendly.”

The Rangers, of course, politely ask you to disagree.

They finished last in each of Rodriguez’s first three years of contract and finished a total of 99 games in first place. Their attendance rose to 2.8 million in the first season, then fell sharply in the next two seasons, falling to 2.09 million fans.

Melvin, the architect of three division titles, was fired 10 months later. The Rangers traded Rodriguez to the New York Yankees three years later. Rangers owner Tom Hicks sold his team in bankruptcy court nine years later.

“Yeah, but look at what they did with that contract,” Boras said. “Their franchise value increased from $250 million to $600 million with the branding. They got a new TV contract. They got naming rights for the stadium. They got land.” Development.

“Everyone knows that the added value of such deals is in the billions.”

While Soto was in a bidding war between the New York Mets, Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays with offers in excess of $700 million, the teams were angry at Hicks in 2000 because they believed he only had against himself on Rodriguez.

The Mets, who were heavy favorites when Rodriguez became a free agent, exited early when then-GM Steve Phillips believed Rodriguez would destroy the team’s fabric by giving him special treatment if he signed after a World Series appearance. The Seattle Mariners, Rodriguez’s former team, offered a five-year, $94 million contract and dropped the tender. Atlanta refused to give Rodriguez a no-trade clause and an opt-out clause. And the Rangers kept going and going and going.

“Scott wanted an exit after three years, five years and five years, and Tom wouldn’t do that,” Melvin said from his home in Florida last week. “He said, ‘Come on, I can’t. The fans loved it and then let him walk away.’ “So the amount kept getting higher and higher.”

The deal closed at 1:30 a.m., but not before the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, sensing a deal was near, went to press earlier that night at 11:45 p.m. and reported that Rodriguez was close to signing The Rangers stood for the largest contract in sports history.

“I was so nervous,” said TR Sullivan, who covered the Rangers for 32 years, telling the story. “Later that night I met Scott and he said there were four or five teams left in the game. I’m driving home at 1 a.m. thinking, ‘Did I screw this up?’ Covering high school football for the rest of my life.”

When Sullivan arrived at the Anatole Hotel, he met late Atlanta manager Jim Fregosi, who assured him that they had pulled out of the tender and Rodriguez was on his way to Texas.

“I could breathe a sigh of relief again,” said Sullivan.

The news spread like wildfire through the lobby, and executives made no attempt to hide their feelings, criticizing the contract and predicting the sport’s demise.

“I’m kind of amazed by the numbers,” said Sandy Alderson, the former GM who worked for MLB at the time. “They are more than alarming. We are clearly in a crisis situation. Every club will be affected by this.” This.”

Seattle Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said, “Obviously some idiot decided to pay him so much he couldn’t refuse.”

Gerry Hunsicker, GM of the Houston Astros, said: “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to D-Day and a catastrophic event.”

The criticism echoed throughout the hotel until the meetings ended and Rodriguez strolled into town for a news conference at the Ballpark in Arlington.

“I remember going to a GM meeting later that day,” Melvin said, “and, oh man, I got some dirty looks. I said, ‘Wait a minute, it wasn’t my money.’ They were pretty mad at me. What should I do? Tom wanted to make a splash, he wanted Alex, and he would do anything to get him.

“It’s hard to argue that he wasn’t the best player in the game.”

The deal, which also included a clause requiring the Rangers to ensure that Rodriguez remained the highest-paid player in the game through the eighth and ninth years of his contract, ended in disaster. The Rangers simply didn’t have enough money to build around Rodriguez. Their pitching staff was getting beat up every night, posting a major league worst ERA of 5.52 from 2000 to 2003 and giving them no chance to compete.

But the Rangers’ downfall certainly wasn’t Rodriguez’s fault. He led the American League in home runs for three consecutive years, averaging 52 home runs and 132 RBI per season. He won the MVP and finished second and sixth. And was a three-time All Star, three-time Silver Slugger and two-time Gold Glove winner.

“If the contract was so bad,” Boras said, “why did three or four teams try to trade for him with that contract?”

After the Boston Red Sox almost acquired Rodriguez only for the players’ association to nix the deal because Rodriguez would demand his salary, the Yankees swooped on him and traded him for Alfonso Soriano.

It was four years later, during the eighth inning of the fourth and final game of the 2007 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies, that Boras announced that Rodriguez would be opting out of the final three years of his contract. Six weeks later, he signed a new 10-year, $275 million contract and won a World Series in 2009.

The Rodriguez deal was truly the result of a perfect storm in Dallas. Hicks was the new owner on site; his hockey team, the Dallas Stars, had won the Stanley Cup the year before. The winter meetings took place in his hometown. And he didn’t just want to cause a stir – but a tidal wave.

“He wanted to be one of the most successful owners in the game,” Boras said, “and he wanted to be the best player in the game. It was that simple.”

Now a perfect storm hit Dallas again, this time for the 26-year-old Soto, who is six months older than Rodriguez when he signed his historic contract. They had similar resumes and career paths. No one can argue that business in baseball is booming, generating over $11 billion in revenue.

And when baseball’s largest, most profitable markets all bid for a player’s services, it’s no wonder another record-breaking contract is signed.

“You have to make history before you turn 25 to get one of these contracts,” Boras said. “Juan is a generational talent, just like Alex was, and everyone covets her because the value is so great.” Juan could bring a team a value of over a billion dollars.

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Alex Rodriguez Rangers contract repeats in Juan Soto’s record contract

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