Alex Rodriguez's tone suggested he still thinks about what could have been.
But the aggressive efforts made by he and his fiancee, Jennifer Lopez, to purchase the Mets this year that ultimately came up short aren't likely to be repeated.
"New York was special because it's New York," Rodriguez said Thursday during the Long Island Association's Virtual Fall Luncheon. "It's a special time where so many people are leaving New York, I thought it was important for us to ... I've always been a contrarian by nature so I thought going into New York at a time where so many are leaving was the right thing to do."
Rodriguez and J-Lo were beaten out by Steve Cohen and his roughly $2.5 billion bid.
"The Mets were a team I grew up watching," A-Rod said. "I thought that the Mets did — and do — have an opportunity to be one of the great franchises around the world, with an incredible fan base, and we were really excited to take payroll from like $150 to $225 million) and bring a championship back to the city of New York."
Asked by Kevin Law, the LIA president and CEO who conducted the nearly 50-minute Q&A, about again pursuing an ownership opportunity, Rodriguez didn't jump at the notion.
"I wasn't looking to acquire a team when the Mets became available, we became interested," Rodriguez said. "Jennifer thought this would be great as well. I enjoyed the experience, so never say never."
The Yankees' clubhouse when Rodriguez arrived in 2004 was bursting with star power, including Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams and Hideki Matsui, among others.
On Thursday Rodriguez said the most challenging transition wasn't coming into an established clubhouse with a championship pedigree. It was, at 28, shifting from shortstop, his natural position, where he had won two Gold Gloves but was manned by Jeter, to third base.
"I had just won the MVP, the Gold Glove, I was just named captain of the Texas Rangers, and moving to third base in the prime of my career was probably the hardest part," Rodriguez said. "But I felt I was walking into an incredible situation. And it was a great experience."
One that included Rod-riguez winning the first — and only — championship of his career, in 2009,
There were, of course, lowlights, including the season-long suspension he received in 2014 for using performance-enhancing drugs.
"While my mistake was so big and it was on such a large stage and I served the longest suspension in Major League Baseball history for PED use, that gives me a platform that's unique," he said. "And now I have an opportunity to go around the world and to youngsters and talk about my mistakes and that hopefully they can avoid those same type of mistakes. So while it was a great mistake, it was a great opportunity."
