Game 1 of the National League Championship Series kicked off on Sunday in Los Angeles. Naturally, star-studded faces show up, but one of MLB royalty stopped by the Fox broadcast for a brief hello.
Twelve-time All-Star Manny Ramirez gave David Ortiz a surprise hug during the pregame show.
Manny Ramirez stops by the MLB on Fox set to say hi to David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter ahead of Mets-Dodgers Game 1. ⚾️📺 #NLCS pic.twitter.com/vUC5BKsQVS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 14, 2024
The two were teammates for six seasons with the Boston Red Sox.
Ramirez threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the New York Mets in a best-of-five series. He spent three seasons with the Dodgers toward the end of his 19-year MLB career.
Alex Rodriguez was also there to greet Ramirez with a high five. Quite a long way from almost being traded for one another.
After the 2003 ALCS when the New York Yankees won in walk-off fashion to advance to the World Series, the Red Sox were devastated. That forced the phone call to take place just days later to the Texas Rangers in talks to acquire Alex Rodriguez.
There were more moving parts, of course, but the biggest hurdle was the huge contract A-Rod had: $179 million reasons why it couldn’t work.
The deal was just about done. A-Rod signed the dotted line and everything and he was willing to take a pay cut,
But …
The Yankees needed a third baseman after Aaron Boone, who hit that walk-off homer, suffered an injury.
And the rest is history.
So it was a very expensive high five, and not just monetarily.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.