Alex Rodriguez wants his place among the Yankees legends.
But at the very least, he wishes the Yankees had at least not given his No. 13 jersey to one of the biggest Pinstripes flops ever in Joey Gallo.
“It did not make me happy,” Rodriguez said on “Evan & Tiki” on Wednesday.
Rodriguez wore No. 13 for the Yankees from 2004-16, and the franchise didn’t use the number during the 20017-20 seasons.
When the Yankees acquired Gallo from Texas during the 2021 season, they allowed him to wear No. 13 as he had during his Rangers years.
Gallo wore that jersey spanning his 140-game disaster in New York, and the Yankees didn’t issue it to a single player during the 2023 season.
Rodriguez, who now serves as an analyst for Fox and ESPN, hopes that his jersey will be immortalized in Monument Park one day.
It irks him that the Yankees haven’t done so in the seven years since he stopped playing.
“Of course, it bothers me,” Rodriguez said. “It’s less about bother, but of course it would be nice to be recognized in one of the coolest places to be in Yankee history, but that’s not my decision.”
The former slugger said he has not had a conversation with the franchise about whether his jersey will be retired, but admits his critical remarks as an analyst about the franchise aren’t aiding the effort.
Rodriguez did say his relationship with owner Hal Steinbrenner and the organization is “fine.”
“I’m too critical to the Yankees, and that doesn’t help my case,” Rodriguez said. “But I get paid to tell the truth and if you guys ask me a question I’m going to tell you exactly as I see it and not sugarcoat it because I want my number retired. If it’s not retired, so be it.”
Rodriguez certainly had a complicated tenure with the franchise.
He played a large role in the Yankees’ last championship in 2009, and that’s why he feels most connected to the franchise instead of the Mariners or Rangers.
Rodriguez also won three MVPs – in 2003, 2005, 2007 – and was one of the best players in the sport during his earlier years in the Bronx.
But his steroids suspension and lying to the franchise during that saga are working against him.
Evan Roberts floated a theory that Rodriguez’s chances of being honored will go up if the Yankees’ 14-year title drought continues since it will make 2009 all the more memorable, but Rodriguez would prefer that not be why it happens.
“I could buy that theory, but I don’t want that to happen,” Rodriguez said. “I want them to win. I want them to turn this around.”
The Yankees have a lot to turn around after a fourth-place finish in 2023, and Rodriguez said the Yankees have to make lots of big changes.
“You have to change everything pretty much. Whatever they’ve been doing hasn’t worked,” Rodriguez said. “You can’t miss so often by so much, and I think that’s why the fan base has lost complete trust in the people making baseball decisions.
“I’m their biggest fan and I’m hoping things turn around. It just seems whatever they’re doing, it’s not working.”