“Shocked and surprised.”
Those were the emotions Alex Rodriguez felt when the legendary slugger’s family forwarded him the comments made by former high school and New York Yankees teammate, Doug Mientkiewicz.
Rodriguez, who addressed the controversial and personal statements with USA TODAY Sports’ Mackenzie Salmon, thought the comments were, “strange, because I always considered Doug a friend.”
Mientkiewicz, a former first baseman, who helped the Boston Red Sox break its 86-year championship drought in 2004, said on the “Foul Territory” podcast with former MLB catcher AJ Pierzynski and Scott Braun, that A-Rod is “going to die a lonely man.”
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He also took shots at Rodriguez’s parenting skills, repeated PED suspensions, and being distant from his teammates at Westminster Christian High School in Miami.
“I don’t care how good or how great you become and how far your career goes, you never forget your high school dudes,” said Mientkiewicz.
Rodriguez, a 14-time all-star also told Salmon that he had been close with Mientkiewicz’s mom and dad and added that he’ll “never speak poorly about any of my teammates.”
Rodriguez concluded his comments on the subject by stating, “I wish him well.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Rodriguez ‘shocked and surprised’ at Doug Mientkiewicz’s comments