Jim Harbaugh and Alex Rodriguez, BFFs?
We’re not saying the Michigan football coach (who has been known to take in a ballgame with glove on hand) and the retired Mariners, Rangers and Yankees slugger will be hanging out any time soon, but they appear to be united in their love of the school in Ann Arbor.
In a news conference promoting his upcoming alternate MLB broadcasts on ESPN, Rodriguez let slip he’s trying to convince his oldest daughter to become a Wolverine.
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“For me the big thing is my daughters next year, Natasha will be a rising senior; Ella will be a rising freshman,” Rodriguez said. “We’re starting to take college visits. I’ll be in Michigan next week visiting Michigan for the second time.”
Rodriguez, who split last year with fiancée Jennifer Lopez, and his daughters posted a selfie from a visit to Ann Arbor last fall, taken during a football weekend. The daughters — Natasha is 17, while Ella is 13 — are from Rodriguez’s marriage with Cynthia Scurtis. They divorced in 2008.
During the news conference, he promised to bring out one more big name in his recruiting pitch — though that alum may not have much spare time this fall after all.
“I’m having Tom Brady talk to her to try to convince her to go to Michigan,” Rodriguez said.
While he works at that, Rodriguez will be co-hosting a Sunday night baseball broadcast eight times this season with Yankees play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay, in the vein of the “Monday Night Football” alternate telecast done last season by Eli and Peyton Manning. The first telecast is Sunday, as Rodriguez’s former team, the Yankees, take on the Red Sox at 7 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.
Rodriguez, who was suspended for the entirety of the 2014 season after his involvement in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal, missed out on the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first time on the ballot earlier this year. It wasn’t a surprise, as Rodriguez had also previously admitted to taking PEDs during his 2003 MVP season with the Rangers.
“I’m the No. 1 cheerleader,” Rodriguez said. “I hope I get in one day. It would be an incredible honor. I will be terribly disappointed if I don’t get in. But if I don’t get in, I have no one to blame but myself.”
In less baseball-related news, Rodriguez also chimed in on his fast-food preferences, after Kay endorsed White Castle as his dinner of choice.
“Alex is going to gravitate to the high-end places with the fancy food, and they can save money with me with White Castle,” Kay said. “I’m great. Have you ever had a White Castle?”
Rodriguez’s response: “I’m a Chick-Fil-a guy.”
Just don’t tell Brady, the Subway pitchman.
Also, don’t tell Tom Izzo about Rodriguez’s newfound love for the Wolverines. Rodriguez made an appearance in the “Iz-zone” in February 2018 at the Breslin Center, sporting a Michigan State shirt and everything.
Michigan, of course, was the preferred school of Rodriguez’s longtime teammate (and frenemy), Derek Jeter. The Kalamazoo native was committed to play shortstop for the Wolverines before signing with the Yankees, and has taken part in several activities at the school.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.