Rodriguez Takes Swing at Mariners

Shortstop Alex Rodriguez made his first appearance Tuesday since agreeing to a record 10-year, $252-million deal with Texas and took a parting shot at his former team, the Seattle Mariners.

The most prized free agent in baseball history--a 25-year-old All-Star with a .309 average over seven seasons--said Texas eventually became an easy choice, and not only because of the money.

Atlanta refused to give Rodriguez the no-trade clause he wanted. And he felt spurned by the Mariners, who he said offered him only a three-year guaranteed contract with a team option for two more years.

“I have a hard time walking away from Seattle. But when they came with a three-year guarantee and a two-year out, I was in disbelief,” Rodriguez said. “I just walked away from it, and knew I wouldn’t have a real choice.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to make a close call, but a bit disappointed the way they handled the situation. Texas just made it real easy for me.”

Rodriguez’s contract is worth $2 million more than owner Tom Hicks paid for the Texas team only three years ago from the group headed by George W. Bush and Rusty Rose. And it doubled the previous record for a sports contract, the $126 million, six-year agreement in October 1997 between forward Kevin Garnett and the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Hopefully when it’s over, they won’t be calling Mr. Hicks a fool but the wisest man in baseball,” Rodriguez said.

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Baseball’s winter meetings smashed standards for big bucks and declarations of doom.

In four days, teams committed $738.95 million to 24 free agents, including $412 million Monday to Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez. That raised the total for this year’s free-agent class to $1.043 billion for 49 players with major league contracts.

“This has to end sometime,” Philadelphia Manager Larry Bowa said. “The well’s got to run dry. It seems it does for a little bit, but then it starts back up.”

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Next winter, Derek Jeter could be the free-agent shortstop signing the big contract--unless the New York Yankees give him a long-term deal this winter.

“We have a good relationship. I’m sure we’ll be talking,” Jeter’s agent, Casey Close, said in the wake of Rodriguez’s contract.

Last year, Close and the Yankees negotiated a $118.5 million, seven-year contract. But George Steinbrenner stopped the deal, the owner not wanting to give out what then would have been the highest average salary: $16,928,571.

Instead, the Yankees and their star shortstop agreed to a $10 million, one-year contract. Since then, the top average salary has risen from $15 million to $25.2 million.