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Editor’s note: Watch “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” on CNN Sunday at 7:00 PM ET. New episodes with full-length interviews are available at HBO Max every Friday.
CNN
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Baseball great Alex Rodriguez talks about the mistakes in his personal and professional life and how they shaped his growing business empire.
In an interview on CNN and HBO Max’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?”, Rodriguez said the performance-enhancing drug scandal that tarnished his legacy was “the most embarrassing moment of my career.”
“The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life was stand up to my daughters Natasha and Ella and tell them this was a mistake dad made,” he told host Chris Wallace
Rodriguez said that due to the strict culture of professional baseball, he was denied a happy ending to his otherwise storied baseball career.
“I realized my mistake and took full responsibility for it,” he added.
The 14-time Major League Baseball All-Star said he is “upbeat” about baseball’s future despite warning signs that viewers are less motivated to watch games.
Rodriguez, who was passed by Albert Puholz on the MLB home run list last week, says if he were MLB commissioner, he would “open the floodgates” and give fans more access to America’s pastime.
“We have to be proactive, which means I would put cameras on guys,” he told Wallace. “The players who drive to the park, I want to see them at home.”
Rodriguez wanted the coverage to be expanded so fans would have a look at the clubs, batting cages and bullpen.
The World Series winner also advocated for Major League Baseball to plant the flag on Independence Day, similar to the National Football League on Thanksgiving Day.
“If you look at the 4th of July, it’s an open day. No football, no basketball, no football,” he said, noting that MLB should make the Fourth of July “all about baseball.”
“Every game we’re going to hook up (put on a mic) these guys and have interviews and they’re all at home watching baseball at a barbecue with their families.”
Another change Rodriguez wanted to make in baseball included increasing financial literacy education for players — such as teaching them about the capital markets, investments and the importance of balancing a checkbook.
“I read something where it said over 50% of athletes go broke after their playing days,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a tragedy.”
In his post-playing career, Rodriguez focused on business. He told Wallace that his investment firm, A-Rod Corp, is a “mini-Berkshire Hathaway” — referring to the multinational conglomerate owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, whom Rodriguez considers a mentor.
A-Rod Corp is an investment vehicle that houses his vast real estate holdings as well as private equity and venture capital investments.
“If you have to put a value on our enterprise, it’s probably somewhere between $1 billion and $2 billion,” Rodriguez told Chris Wallace.
The former shortstop also discussed his split with pop icon Jennifer Lopez. Lopez married actor Ben Affleck in July 2022 after she and Rodriguez ended their long-term relationship a year earlier.
“With Jennifer, look, it was a good experience. And I wish her and the kids — who are smart and beautiful and wonderful — the best,” Rodriguez said.
Telling CNN’s Chris Wallace that despite his many high-profile relationships, he now feels his past relationships and the impact of his 2014 MLB suspension have made him “husband material” going forward.
“I think I’ll be a wonderful partner or husband and father after suspension because of the lessons I’ve learned from my biggest mistakes.”
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