Last October, Alex Rodriguez and Pete Rose teamed up to headline one of the most entertaining sports studio shows we’ve ever seen.
The recurring gag on the FOX postseason show was Pete Ross insulting A-Rod and A-Rod feebly responding (sometimes this was reversed), then everyone cracking up. Now A-Rod has signed on as a fulltime analyst at FOX, and Rose is sticking around as well, meaning the schtick isn’t going anywhere.
Already, Rose has clowned Rodriguez about his rumored relationship with Jennifer Lopez, which prompted something resembling exasperation from A-Rod.
https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/846544611610845184
But according to Newsday, Rodriguez won’t soon get fed up with Rose’s jab.
Rodriguez said the next day that he neither was surprised nor upset by [the J-Lo references]. On the contrary, he chalked it up to what has worked about Fox’s quirky foursome of A-Rod, Rose, Frank Thomas and Kevin Burkhardt.
“The greatest thing about the show is it’s exactly what they would do in the green room before and after our shows,” Rodriguez said. “Really, nothing changes. We’ll say anything on the air and it’s very natural, especially coming from Pete.
“That’s what makes it great television. So, no, I was not surprised . . . I never get mad at Pete. I love him.”
Maybe A-Rod is telling the truth and the jab about J-Lo truly didn’t bother him, but it’s much more fun to imagine Rodriguez quietly seething while repeating to himself, Must be likable, must be likable.
A-Rod’s post-baseball career has been pretty eventful so far. He starred on FOX, created a company that definitely does something, issued a mea culpa for his PED-related misbehavior and on Tuesday was responsible for a new meme.
Who will win the World Series this year? #mlb pic.twitter.com/4knU1LluGx
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) March 29, 2017
When the teacher walks by & you have to act like you're really thinking about the test answers but you're just regretting your life choices pic.twitter.com/AbS536Y8xy
— MLB Daily Dish (@mlbdailydish) March 29, 2017
When you discover Professor X's telekinetic powers are the new market inefficiency pic.twitter.com/LyQJTz8zHO
— Beyond the Box Score (@BtBScore) March 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/RiverAveBlues/status/846924835498463233
— nick (@nick_pants) March 29, 2017
when the Uber driver tries to spark up a conversation after your long night pic.twitter.com/7iTXw6pbI6
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) March 29, 2017
Marvel making A-Rod their new Professor X was a bold choice pic.twitter.com/jPyQAejPCV
— Clem (@TheClemReport) March 29, 2017
— Buckeye Empire (@BuckeyeEmpire) March 29, 2017
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) March 29, 2017
— Brody Logan (@BrodyLogan) March 29, 2017
There are a lot of different interpretations of this photo, but to us, it looks like A-Rod is straining so hard to try to not get mad at Pete Rose.
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.