alex rodriguez

New York Mets: Mike Repole reportedly joins Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez bid to buy

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Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have been linked with the New York Mets for a few weeks now. They reportedly want to acquire the team from the Wilpons, who are looking to sell, but the former MLB star and the actress, singer and entrepreneur, his fiancée, struggled to find another deep pocket to finance the deal.

According to Darren Rovell of Action Network HQ, they may have found who they were looking for in billionaire Mike Repole. He has, per Rovell, joined the Alex Rodriguez/Jennifer Lopez group in hopes of buying the Mets.

Repole has found success as a businessman, being specifically involved with Vitaminwater and BODYARMOR Super Drink. He is also a thoroughbred owner.

A New York Mets fan

The cherry on top would be that Repole was born in Queens and is a New York Mets fan, so there is the emotional component, as well, just as it would have happened with Steve Cohen, who was very close to acquiring the team not so long ago.

Rodriguez and Lopez, therefore, could have found the person they needed to get a deal done and buy the Mets. Repole has been mentioned as a potential bidder for the Mets for almost a decade, and this could be the best time to capitalize.

Repole is no stranger to the sports world. He went to St. John’s University and graduated with a degree in Sports Administration, so that would be a positive for Mets fans.

It remains to be seen if the group can complete the purchase on their own or if they will need to look for other investors to fund the deal.

Cohen, a famous hedge funder, was going to pay $2.6 billion for a majority share of the team before the deal fell through near the end line. However, it is highly unlikely that the price is that high at this point.

New York Mets: Things Heat Up With Potential Sellers

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New York Mets, Jeff Wilpon

As the 2020 season seems to die in front of our eyes slowly, the potential sale of the New York Mets is heating up. Former buyers and new clients are lining up to purchase one of MLB’s most valuable franchises.

The Steve Cohen saga to purchase the Mets has no end in sight. He originally backed out from the 2.6 billion dollar deal, which included the Wilpons partial ownership for the following five seasons. Cohen said the Wilpons were negotiating in “bad faith” but does not rule out entering another bid. He is waiting on the season’s resumption and will also ask for more control of SNY with his future offer.

J-Rod Ownership?

The group led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are active in their pursuit of the Mets. They connected with an unnamed backer who could bring up to $250,000 to add to the group’s funds. Rumors say two investors through Galatiota Sports Partners will bring in a combined 250 million dollars.

Galatiota helped Josh Harris acquire the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011. Harris is also interested in purchasing the Mets. Based on his work with the 76ers and New Jersey Devils, he would be a terrific replacement to the Wilpons.

Wilpons Scramble

The longer baseball goes without a season, the lower the value of franchises become. The Wilpons, known for the lack of funds to run a franchise, hope to extend a 250 million dollar loan, which expires after July. They hope the loan extension is for a year, which gives time for all of the turmoil in baseball and the world to settle. They want to avoid an auction, which would make it easy for the Harris/Blitzer group to swoop in and buy.

If the Mets are not sold by 2021, they will partake in their version of Moneyball. Any high priced talent will either get kicked to the curb or never receive an offer. For most owners of a sports franchise, it becomes a business-first mentality, but it seems the Wilpon’s have forgotten about the sports side of it and just want to break even when they through with the franchise.

New York Yankees: All-Time Starting Lineup/Bench

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New York Yankees, Babe Ruth

Most of these players contributed to the 27 World Series rings that the New York Yankees franchise has won. From World Series MVPs to record-breaking statistics, these players have done it all in the sport of baseball.

All-Time Starting Lineup/Bench

1. SS Derek Jeter

Jeter played all 20 seasons of his career for the Yankees and was one of 15 captains in New York Yankees history. He deserved to be the second unanimous hall of fame player but fell one vote short.

He had 650 1st-pitch hits, indicating he was aggressive at the plate, which makes a perfect leadoff hitter for this team.

2. LF Joe DiMaggio

A 56-game hitting streak is Dimaggio’s most popular call to fame, however, he did make the all-star team all 13 years of his career.

He hit over .300 in 11 out of 13 years at the highest stage, which is almost never seen in today’s baseball.

To top it all off, he served his country in WWII for three years.

3. RF Babe Ruth

“The Bambino” was the greatest display of power in the early 20th century and no one will forget when he “called his shot.”

His 714 home runs have kept him among the top three home run hitters for almost a century. He has the best slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+ of all-time as well.

He is arguably the best all-around hitter ever and needs to be in the middle of this lineup.

4. 1B Lou Gehrig

He and Ruth were the best one-two punch of their era, if Ruth did not drive in the runs one game, Gehrig would put the “cleanup” in “cleanup hitter” and drive in the runs himself.

In 1931, Gehrig drove in 185 runs, which is the second-most for a single season in history, behind Hack Wilson, who drove in 191 runs a year prior.

Gehrig also won the triple crown in 1934, meaning he led the American League in home runs, RBIs, and batting average, a feat that only a few players have achieved in their careers.

5. CF Mickey Mantle

Following in DiMaggio’s footsteps, Mantle, led the New York Yankees to seven World Series titles. He won the triple crown in 1956, paving the way for his first MVP award.

Mantle was arguably one of the first five-tool players in baseball, as he led the American League in many batting categories, in a single season, at some point in his career and even won a gold glove award.

Behind Babe Ruth, Mantle is second on the all-time Yankees home run list.

6. 3B Alex Rodriguez

Although his best years were for the Texas Rangers, A-Rod won two MVPs as the Yankees’ third baseman.

Yes, he did admit to using steroids, but he was still one of the most feared hitters in baseball for almost two decades.

7. C Yogi Berra

Berra, won three MVPs, 10 World Series rings, meaning he has one for each finger, not even Tom Brady has reached that level of success.

Between his “Yogisms” and serving in WWII, he did all you can ask for of a man and a baseball player. He is the textbook definition of a legend in the game of baseball.

8. 2B Tony Lazzeri

There is an argument to have Robinson Cano in this lineup, however, Lazzeri’s Yankees tenure was longer and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He also helped the historic teams of the 1920s and 30s win five World Series titles.

9. P Whitey Ford

This is just to fill a hole in the lineup without a DH, if there had to be a DH, a case could be made for Don Mattingly, Graig Nettles, or Dave Winfield, cannot go wrong with any of these players.

Ford was arguably the best pitcher in Yankees history and would be the opening day starter for this team.

Bench:

C Bill Dickey

He was Yogi Berra’s predecessor and helped the Yankees win seven World Series rings. An 11-time all-star and a hall of fame inductee earn his spot on this team.

1B/OF Don Mattingly

His best season was 1986 when he hit 53 doubles. Mattingly is a great pinch-hit option off the bench.

2B Robinson Cano

Cano got the assist on the final out of 2009 World Series game 6, which one the Yankees first World Series since 2000. He played all but one game that season and became a big part of the New York Yankees team in the early 2010s.

He is the only active player on this team, but his spot is well deserved.

3B Graig Nettles

Nettles led the American League in home runs in 1976, with 32. He is a fan favorite of the ’70s Yankees teams and needs to be on this team.

OF Dave Winfield

Last, but not least, Winfield had one of the best arms of any right-fielder ever. He would rack up double-digit outfield assist seasons a bunch of times in his career.

He also had middle-of-the-lineup production at the plate during his career, making him the perfect player to round out this team.

New York Mets: J-Lo and A-Rod Making a Second Run at Buying The Mets

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New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez

Just a short while ago, the partnership of Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez backed out of purchasing the New York Mets. After their initial proposal fell out, their partnership with JPMorgan Chase have put together a new bid in the hope of becoming the new owners of the franchise.

The couple is putting together “hundreds of millions” of their own money in an attempt to get rid of the Wilpon regime. The COVID-19 pandemic and current minor league conflicts show the family is more than ready to rid the financial burden of owning the Mets finally.

New Changes to the Plan

The original plan of only owning the franchise fell out in part of the negative revenues from solely owning the Mets. SNY’s revenues allow Wilpons to continue operating the franchise without losing money. The new plan includes SNY in the deal, new partners (no longer Wayne Rothbaum, and a long-term plan for successful ownership.

The Wilpons are not ones to prevent themselves from making an extra dime. They still want a part of SNY’s ownership in the deal but are willing to hand over majority ownership now. As rich as the J-Rod combination is, they need help to pull off a deal, especially with SNY involved.

The partnership with JP Morgan Chase guarantees large amounts of money are coming for the big. Rumors put the bid around $2 billion, and it has a much higher chance of happening than their first attempt at ownership.

Another crucial part of this deal is the joint ownership where both Rodriguez and Lopez would be front and center of the franchise. They will be active owners and attempt to undo some of the messes the Wilpon family will leave behind.

New Blood in Queens

Another aspect is creating a different environment for fans and players. They have spoken with the Kraft family, who are not interested in owning a team but in what they can do for Citi Field and the neighborhood around it. The goal is to make going to the ballgame a whole day experience, not just a game experience.

The Kraft family developed the area around Gilette Stadium to become a complex where you spend the weekend. Their interest is in developing the area around Citi Field the same way. Space is there in Queens, but fans know it is not the safest or welcoming area to hang out around after a ball game. Some of the auto shops and buildings have cleared out over the last decade-plus, but there is still a lot more work to be done there. This is why the 2013 All-Star game parade was on 42nd street in Manhattan.

The aim is to combine aspects of Wrigley Field and Madison Square Garden. The Wrigley element creates a “baseball town” for fans. The Mets fan base is as passionate as any in baseball, and they would embrace that culture. McFadden’s at Citi Field is a huge hit, so expanding that culture will fill the ballpark more often.

The Madison Square Garden aspect brings the star power to Citi Field. Just like the Knicks, the Mets have plenty of big-name celebrities from Jerry Seinfeld to Donovan Mitchell, who are avid fans. The Garden has “celebrity row” and putting together the same concept works to the Mets advantage. The stadium is next to a beautiful view, and Citi Field’s design is aging like fine wine.

There are still plenty of hoops to jump through. Other bids and negotiations are the biggest obstacles in the J-Rod ownership. But the improvement of their plans has to make fans optimistic, even as we are clueless on when baseball will return.

New York Mets: What if A-Rod signed with the New York Mets in 2000?

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The New York Mets entertained the possibility of signing 25-year-old free agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez back in the 2000 offseason, just weeks after they lost the Subway Series to the Yankees. General Manager Steve Phillips and his staff heavily considered making such a splash, but as they later explained, they were out before they even started talking about money.

A-Rod, per the New York Post’s Mike Puma, grew up as a Mets’ fan idolizing Keith Hernandez as a kid in Miami. There had to be some degree of interesting in A-Rod’s part on going to New York to play in Queens.

However, everybody knew Rodriguez was going to be extremely expensive, maybe the most expensive free agent signing in the history of the game. He was young, good and charismatic. And Phillips, who had brought Mike Piazza a couple of years earlier and had some aging stars in the roster, wasn’t going to have much budget at his disposal.

But Phillips said recently that the New York Mets were “out before the money conversation ever happened.”

Rodriguez had some lofty demands, such as office space at Shea Stadium and a tent at spring training to sell his own A-Rod line of merchandising. Phillips thought that would have resulted in a clubhouse of “24+1” players.

However, it’s easy to imagine: what if A-Rod landed on the Mets? Would the team have won the World Series in these last few years?

Well, they certainly would have prevented A-Rod from going to the Yankees, and the Mets, most likely, wouldn’t have had the money to bring Carlos Beltran in 2005.

Did the Mets really consider signing A-Rod?

A-Rod ended up signing a 10-year, $252 million pact with the Texas Rangers. The Mets, in turn, saw Mike Hampton go in free agency and entered a decline phase that lasted until 2006, the year in which they were eliminated in Game Seven of the Championship Series on a strikeout: Beltran let an Adam Wainwright’s curveball go by.

“At the time when we were pursuing [Rodriguez], you could kind of dream about that lineup, and the offensive lineup would have been incredible,” said Jim Duquette, then the Mets assistant general manager. “He fit perfectly at least for the few years as a shortstop, because at that time it was before [Jose] Reyes had come on the scene so we didn’t have a shortstop where we could say he’s going to be our shortstop for the next 10 years.

“[Rey] Ordonez was easily replaceable. We had lost [John] Olerud and had [Todd] Zeile at first base and [Robin] Ventura at third and Edgardo [Alfonzo] at second, so we would have had a very veteran, albeit starting to age, infield. That whole building around impactful players, obviously A-Rod and Piazza were going to be the stars and they were the most recognizable. You want to talk about star power, it would have lifted our organization to a level we haven’t seen.”

The Mets had to do some roster maneuvering, and even then, it probably wouldn’t have been enough to pry A-Rod.

“We might have had to trade some pitching away to make [Rodriguez] fit the budget,” Phillips said. “It wasn’t as simple as add 18 or 19 or 20 million [dollars] into the budget and keep the same players. It would have been some level of subtraction in order to add him, because we weren’t going to add $20 million to the payroll as a separate line item. It was going to have to be, if not all of it, there was going to have to be some offset of taking some money off the books to make it work.”

Puma said that “if the Mets signed Rodriguez, it’s possible Phillips would have avoided his largely disastrous roster overhaul following the 2001 season, in which he traded for aging stars Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar. The Mets also signed Jeromy Burnitz and Roger Cedeno, both of whom underperformed in their return to Queens.”

With A-Rod in the fold, the New York Mets’ infield would eventually have been formed by Rodriguez, Jose Reyes and David Wright.

Is former New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez considering a comeback?

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New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez

The physical toll an entire regular season of baseball takes on any given player is astronomical. Fatigue eventually begins to set in, and muscles give out, and that is something former New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez experienced in 2016. After 22 years as a Major League player, Rodriguez finished his final season with a .200 batting average, nine home runs, and just 31 RBIs. This was over 225 at-bats, having posted 523 the year before in 2015.

Rodriguez launch 33 homers and logged 86 RBIs that season at 39 years old, ranking 28th and MVP voting. However, Rodriguez could be considering a come back to baseball, but who knows if it is as a player. He recently posted a video in the batting cage with cryptic wording, stating that baseball was his first love. Maybe it is time to focus in on Jennifer Lopez as his only love at this point.

However, Mike Tyson is training to return to the ring at 60 years old; Rodriguez could be thinking the same thing. Why not give it a try if he’s physically in shape and capable of hitting a 99 mph fastball.

The hashtags in the post are the real identifiers, as he finished his career with 696 home runs, just four shy of being the fourth player in MLB history to reach 700 homers. Now, the PED suspensions and allegations will take a toll on his legacy, but so many players took performance-enhancing drugs throughout their career, notably Barry Bonds and even Roger Clemens.

If A-Rod is actually considering a return, he might be able to cash in on an international deal.

While a return is unlikely, it is something fun and exciting to think about during the quarantine. With baseball on the fringe of return, we can begin to get excited about the idea of sitting on our respective couches and enjoying the beautiful game, with or without A-Rod.

Fellow ESPN analyst rips former Yankees’ star Alex Rodriguez

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New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez, the former New York Yankees‘ third baseman in the 2000s and 2010s, recently made the news after it was reported that he was interested in buying the New York Mets. After his attempt didn’t come to fruition, he made the headlines last weekend for another reason.

Over the weekend, he said that players should accept the MLB owners’ proposal currently on the table, which includes splitting revenues 50-50 for games played in empty stadiums. Both sides are still negotiating a return to action some time in the summer.

According to ESPN Radio host Dan Le Batard, quoted by the New York Post, players should be upset after hearing A-Rod’s comments. Rodriguez made approximately $450 million in a 22-year career, which included steroids use. He played several years with the New York Yankees.

“I’d be really mad at A-Rod,” Le Batard said this week on his show. “You made a whole lot of money not playing the game clean, and then at the end what you’re trying to do, while failing to buy the Mets with J-Lo, is you’re talking like ownership instead of labor.”

Le Batard says that he knows Rodriguez for a long time and he has a “better understanding” about how his mindset is. Both men work for the same chain these days: ESPN, where A-Rod is an analyst in “Sunday Night Baseball.”

“I can imagine players being furious hearing him”

“The reason it wasn’t surprising to me is — and I’ve known A-Rod since high school — I’ve never met an athlete of his kind of excellence who was more of a zealot about wanting to be liked, who craved being liked,” he said. “The irony of that is that most people found him to be insincere or some sort of antiseptic polished version of what you want your athletes to be, always trying to be something that you liked instead of whatever the authentic thing was inside of there. And it is so much easier to get the applause of people — fans — with that sentiment, even if it means alienating your peers. Even if it means alienating the union that got you all that money because it’s so strong and there’s no salary cap in your sport.”

“He was willing to discard whatever it is that the players might feel about him advocating for a pay cut, after having made all of his money,” Le Batard said of Rodriguez. “And so I wasn’t surprised that that’s the route that he went, but I can imagine players being all kinds of furious hearing him.”

The former 2009 World Series Champion with the Yankees said last week about the subject: “If there’s $100 in the pie, like the NBA, players take $50, owners take $50,” the 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner said. “And we give it to the fans. We thank the fans of baseball. It is the people’s comfort food and people are starving, I just don’t want to see this great game — people fighting, billionaires fighting with millionaires. This is actually when the owners and players are aligned, and we want the same thing. We want to save baseball. We want to play baseball.”

Le Batard wasn’t impressed.

“What he did,” he said, “was cupping a hand to his ear, and just waiting for the applause to roll in on social media because he decided to say: ‘Hey players, let’s go. We’ve made enough money. Get out there. America needs you.’”

Can This Former Yankee and His Fiancé Still Buy A Team?

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New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez

It would have been a weird look for Bronx natives, for Yankee Alex Rodriguez withdrew his bid with fiance, Jennifer Lopez, to buy the New York Mets. Before going more in-depth about the collapsed bid, and looking to the duo’s next move, a former Yankee, and “Jenny from the block” setting up shop with the team from Queens? While I’m not a fan of A-Rod’s, that would have been just too weird of a move for baseball.

Okay, back on track.

Why the Bid Fell Apart

A-Rod and J-Lo were teaming up with a Long Island billionaire named Wayne Rothbaum. It was more out of convenience that the three agreed to enter this partnership then they all got along. From Thornton McEnery of the NY Post, “He was not their first choice, but he was the first to agree to the next steps.” Rothbaum also wanted more control in his stake of the bid than the happy couple wanted to surrender.

The J-Rod/Rothbaum group was looking to also purchase SNY as well as the Mets from the Wilpon’s. The Wilpon’s have no intention of selling SNY with the Mets. What made the Cohen bid this fall go as far as it did last winter was Cohen left SNY off the block with his $2.6 billion bid. The Wilpon’s were steadfast in that being the new benchmark for a bid should they sell.

But with teams around the country set to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue due to the pandemic this season, will the Wilpon’s agree to a deal that’s less than $2 billion, or even go low enough to sell the team for less than $1 billion? Governor Cuomo was quick to reference the Wilpon’s voicing their concern over how much money they’d be losing on top of paying players’ salaries.

Will They Try Again?

If the deal with the Mets materialized, J-Rod would be minority owners in the club, but would undoubtedly serve as the face of the club, much in the way the Jeter is the face of the Marlins. The two have a combined net worth of $700 million, meaning Rothbaum was going to be the principle owner on paper. As their wedding has been indefinitely postponed due to the pandemic, it feels safe to say one will. With A-Rod’s interest in business investment in his post-playing career, coupled with his long-standing desire to be a front office executive/owner for a professional team, it seems like a foregone conclusion that there will be another attempt by Alex to buy a baseball team. Whether Jennifer decides to join him remains to be seen, but if her philanthropic endeavors during the pandemic don’t satisfy her, yea… I think she’ll sign up again.

New York Mets: Why A-Rod Ending His Ownership Bid is a Good Thing

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New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez’s announcement to end their bid at owning the New York Mets was no shock to those familiar with the situation. In reality, the reaction to it should be applauded instead of a disappointed one.

The reputation of Alex Rodriguez in baseball comes with plenty of hate and dislike. Players who competed with and against him have very mixed opinions on A-Rod. During his non-baseball life, he has attempted to revive his character by working on television and his relationship with Lopez. In part, it is a way to separate him from the other faces of the Steroid Era and sneak into the Hall of Fame.

Why He Can’t Own the Mets

The money simply was not there for the deal to happen and allow Rodriguez to be in charge. He needed a partner to raise the necessary funds to acquire the franchise sufficiently. If that were to happen, Rodriguez would not be the one in charge of making decisions. He has never been good at playing second fiddle to anyone, which leads us to believe that partnership would not work out.

Lastly, there is no good reason for him to give up the extravagant life he has with Lopez and his children just to own the Mets. Derek Jeter was able to pull it off since he resides in Florida, where the Marlins play. He also needed 16 investors to pull off the deal, but his reputation and character allowed him to earn the role of CEO. The most significant difference between the two is Rodriguez sees baseball as secondary after he retired, while Jeter can’t stay away from the game.

While the Mets are still stuck with the Wilpons, it is even better than involving A-Rod with the franchise. If the Marlins could get Jeter to purchase the franchise, the Mets in the legendary New York market can find the owner who makes us all forget about the Wilpons incompetence.

A-Rod and J-Lo won’t be buying the New York Mets

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A few weeks ago, it was reported by several outlets that former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and singer, actress and performer Jennifer Lopez, his fiancée, were interested in acquiring the New York Mets from the Wilpons. They were reportedly looking for investors to realize their plan.

However, that doesn’t appear to be the case as things currently stand. According to Thornton McEnery of the New York Post, Rodriguez and Lopez are no longer interested in buying the Mets.

The reason for the decision was because negotiations with potential partners didn’t come to fruition. Also, according to the writer, it became evident that the Wilpons’ unwillingness to part with SNY made any deal impossible for people without very, very deep pockets.

The interest in acquiring the Mets hit a bump in the road

Rodriguez and Lopez’s intentions hit a bump in the road in recent days, when “their chosen money partner, Long Island biotech billionaire Wayne Rothbaum, made it clear he was only interested in scooping up the MLB franchise at an Amazin’ discount. Rothbaum also wanted to exert more control over the team than J-Rod was comfortable surrendering,” according to McEnery.

“The Rothbaum thing soured fast,” a source familiar with the J-Rod/Rothbaum relationship told The Post. “He was not their first choice, but he was the first to agree to next steps.”

Two challenges remain for any person or group looking to acquire the New York Mets: the difficulty to establish the franchise value in the times of coronavirus, and the Mets’ owners reluctance to part with SNY.

“They really think they can sell the team and keep SNY,” one Mets insider said. “But the only person to agree to that was Steve Cohen, and we all know how that ended.”

Some have even speculated that Cohen will eventually resurface as the primary candidate to buy the New York Mets, although he has said that he is out of the hunt.

“Cohen was going to do it, sure,” one banker close to the situation said. “But there is no way this team trades now without SNY. The Wilpons can play hardball as much as they want but no one can afford to own this team without the TV revenue. It literally doesn’t add up.”