The Texas Rangers got Alfonso Soriano, age 28, one of the most exciting talents in baseball, who had mainly been a 2nd baseman, but could also play shortstop and 3rd base; and a player to be named later, who, on April 23, turned out to be Joaquin Arias, 19, a minor-league infielder who ended up playing 474 games in the major leagues, including winning 2 World Series rings as a backup with the 2012 and 2014 San Francisco Giants.
The New York Yankees got Alex Rodriguez, a shortstop, soon to be 29, accepted by some as the best player in baseball, and the last 7 years of the biggest contract ever signed in professional sports to that point: $252 million.
I had to explain about Arias. But we know what happened to the 2 big names. Soriano bounced around, including back to the Yankees at the end, finishing with 412 home runs and 289 stolen bases, including (as far as we know, he was clean) the only honest season in MLB history with at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, with the 2006 Washington Nationals. (UPDATE: In 2023, Ronald Acuña Jr. did it with the Atlanta Braves, cleanly as far as we know.)
And yet, he got traded again, not because the Nats no longer wanted to deal with him, but because the Chicago Cubs were going for broke, and he did help them reach the postseason in 2007 and 2008.
These are all the players, through the 2021 season, who have exceeded Soriano's totals in both home runs and stolen bases, in chronological order: Willie Mays (660 HRs and 338 SBs), Andre Dawson (438 and 314), Barry Bonds (762 and 514, the only man to have 400 of each, let alone 500), Carlos Beltrán (435 and 312)... and Alex Rodriguez.
(So, really, only Mays and Dawson.)
As for A-Rod: The Yankees were able to make the trade because their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, had already tried and failed to trade their All-Star shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra, to the Rangers for him. On July 31, 2004, as part of a 4-team deal, the Sox sent Nomar to the Chicago Cubs, getting Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins and Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos.
The Yankees made the trade because he was right up there with their own All-Star shortstop, Derek Jeter, as one of the biggest stars in baseball; and team owner George Steinbrenner was in one of his "I want it now!" phases that many people thought had stopped after his 1990 suspension, but really hadn't.
A-Rod moved to 3rd base, because Jeter had earned the right to keep playing at shortstop for the Yankees. A-Rod ended up helping the Yankees reach the postseason 7 times, but won only 1 Pennant, in 2009, also winning the World Series. His regular seasons were solid, sometimes spectacular. His postseasons, 2009 excepted, were horrendous.
He seemed to be personally responsible for the Yankees' failures to "show up" in the 2005 American League Division Series, the 2006 ALDS, the 2007 ALDS, the 2010 AL Championship Series, the 2011 ALDS, the 2012 ALCS, and the 2015 AL Wild Card Game. And it all seemed to start with his stupid "Slap Play" in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS.
He finished his career with 14 All-Star berths, 3,115 hits, 696 home runs, 2,086 RBIs, 329 stolen bases, a batting title (before he was a Yankee), 2 Gold Gloves (both before he was a Yankee), 3 AL Most Valuable Player awards (2 as a Yankee)... and 1 World Championship, the category that Yankee Fans should care about.
And he frequently embarrassed the Yankees, both on and off the field. If it was just little things, like the various manifestations of his huge ego, I could have lived with it. After all, my favorite player of all time is Reggie Jackson, and I lived with his similar issues, although none were as weird as that painting of A-Rod as a centaur.
But Reggie never cheated, as far as we know. A-Rod got caught cheating with performance-enhancing drugs. Twice. And that was on top of his many postseason failures, and his single postseason success.
No player in the history of baseball has ever polarized fans more. If that's incorrect, then, certainly, none has ever done so within the fandom of his own team.
He retired on August 12, 2016. The Yankees did not give uniform Number 13 back out until 2021, to Joey Gallo, who, at the least, was only an embarrassment in terms of his performance. They probably won't officially retire it for A-Rod, and he may never get a Plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.
And, while he is now eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, don't count on him being elected. Ever. Meanwhile, David Ortiz, who cheated, lied about it, got caught, and still lies about it, became eligible at the same time, and, oh-so-predictably, got in on his first chance.
So, who won the trade of Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano to the Rangers? The Boston Red Sox, of course.
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February 16, 2004 was a Monday -- the Presidents Day holiday. Baseball and football were out of season. You would think that a national holiday would be a good day for the NBA to have a nationally-televised matinee of league powers, or a great historic rivalry, or both. But they didn't: The day before was their All-Star Game, at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. The West beat the East, 132-126. Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, playing on his home court, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
There were 11 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers lost to the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden.
* The New York Islanders played the Los Angeles Kings to a tie, 1-1 at the Nassau Coliseum. (The New Jersey Devils were not scheduled.)
* The San Jose Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.
* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Florida Panthers, 3-1 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 7-2 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Arena) in Buffalo.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-4 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.
* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Nashville Predators, 4-2 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
* The St. Louis Blues beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-2 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.
* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 1-0 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.
* The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center).
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