FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a nearly flawless debut for Texas,
Alex Rodriguez finally started to earn his record $252 million
contract on the field.
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And the All-Star shortstop hopes that puts the focus back on his
play.
"This is what I love to do. This is what I do for a living,"
he said Saturday after getting two hits as the Texas Rangers beat
the Boston Red Sox 7-1. "All I want to do is go out and play hard
and respect the game of baseball and be judged by that, and not
judged by what I do with my business life."
Rodriguez was playing his first game since agreeing in December
to a 10-year contract, the richest in sports history.
Before getting singles in his last two at-bats, Rodriguez drew a
walk from David Cone in the first inning and then scored on Rafael
Palmeiro's three-run homer.
Rodriguez had two strikes in the third against Tim Wakefield,
after swinging and missing badly two knuckleballs, then singled
sharply to left. His day ended when he was thrown out at second
base while trying to stretch his fifth-inning liner off Tomo Ohka.
His only fielding chance resulted in a more-than-routine play.
In the bottom of the third, Rodriguez went deep into the hole
behind second to make a fully extended stab of Jose Offerman's
grounder. The Texas shortstop then twisted, planted and completed
the out.
"Any time you have a play come your way, you really don't know
what your barometer is, where to go what your range is," Rodriguez
said. "It's nice to go out and test yourself a little bit, because
that was a test for the only play of the game. But it was good to
make."
Rodriguez said he plans to play in most of the Rangers'
exhibition games, though he did not reveal the plan for him devised
by manager Johnny Oates.
"Mentally, I know what it takes for my body to get ready, but
there are so many things in my game that I want to work on. There's
a lot of room for improvement," Rodriguez said. "My main focus is
preparation. I never worry about results, especially in spring
training."
The Rangers play again Sunday, their first game at their spring
home of Port Charlotte. While they play the Cincinnati Reds, Ken
Griffey Jr. is not expected to make the trip, so don't look for a
reunion of former Seattle teammates.
Oates said Rodriguez, like the entire team, played well in the
opener.
"We are excited about him being here," Oates said. "He played
well, and made an extremely nice defensive play up the middle. It's
good to seem him out there."
Rodriguez's Texas debut came a day after he spoke by phone with
New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who twice in recent months
has been the subject of seemingly unfavorable comments by
Rodriguez. Rodriguez called to clarify remarks in an Esquire
article, and both players said Saturday they considered the case
closed and remained friends.
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