SEATTLE — His number is never going to be retired at T-Mobile Park. No statue in his likeness is on the horizon. But Saturday, Alex Rodriguez received a gift from Mariners fans that might mean just as much to him these days: their appreciation. We knew the pregame ceremony honoring the Top 50 Mariners of all time was going to spark a series of cheers. What was less certain was how A-Rod — the ...

Alex Rodriguez reacts during the Seattle Mariners 50th Season Celebration at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 8, 2026, in Seattle.

Jack Compton/Getty Images North America/TNS

SEATTLE — His number is never going to be retired at T-Mobile Park. No statue in his likeness is on the horizon.

But Saturday, Alex Rodriguez received a gift from Mariners fans that might mean just as much to him these days: their appreciation.

We knew the pregame ceremony honoring the Top 50 Mariners of all time was going to spark a series of cheers. What was less certain was how A-Rod — the man who left Seattle after his fifth full season in MLB — would be received by the crowd.

There was a time, after all, when Rodriguez might have been the most disliked athlete in the Emerald City. He abandoned the team at the peak of his powers to sign a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers, a division rival that showed little promise.

It was viewed as the ultimate money move, and folks around here couldn't stand the former shortstop because of it. Saturday, though, they stood for him.

Yes, there were a few boos when Mariners public address announcer Tom Hutyler introduced Rodriguez. But there were far more cheers — and enthusiastic ones at that. It might not have spawned the same reaction that Seattle legends such as Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro, Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez did, but it was a clear thank you" for what Rodriguez did on the field.

Perhaps the following words are blasphemous around these parts, but peak A-Rod was every bit as good as peak Griffey. Rodriguez didn't have the service time that the center fielder did, but his contributions from 1996-2000 were every bit as dynamic.

Rodriguez was robbed of the MVP award in 1996 when he hit .358, as the Rangers' Juan González took home the hardware. There were also two years in which he led the American League in WAR as a Mariner — once in 1998 and again in 2000.

A-Rod's legacy will always be marred by his taking performance-enhancing drugs, which cost him the entire 2014 season and will likely keep him from ever getting into the Hall of Fame. Those five seasons in Seattle, though? Just pure — and seemingly clean — dominance.

Rodriguez once said to former Seattle Times sports columnist Larry Stone: "I wanted to be this perfect player. What I realize is there is no perfect player.” He's right, but for a while there, A-Rod was pretty close. He won the batting title in 1996, had three straight years in Seattle in which he notched at least 40 home runs and boasted what might have been the best glove in the game. That $252 million deal he signed with Texas was seen as astronomical at the time.

But the move was also seen as traitorous. It's not quite like someone going from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees. But the Rangers were so pitiful at the time, dollars seemed to be the only motivation for the signing.

Hey, these are grown men who are trying to do what's best for themselves and their family. It's not as if Rodriguez quit on the M's in the middle of the season. But a day when he would be greeted warmly at T-Mobile Park didn't seem likely a while ago. Saturday, it happened.

Despite the Mariners struggles, the pregame ceremony was joyful. The M's might be the only MLB team to have not reached the World Series, but they've had plenty of star power. The aforementioned quartet of Griffey, Martinez, Johnson and Ichiro were the primary attraction, and there was a surprise announcement that longtime Mariners play-by-play man Rick Rizzs had been elected into the Mariners Hall of Fame.

That's probably what fans are going to remember most from the ceremony, but Rodriguez did have his moment.

In A-Rod's defense he's never harbored hostility toward Seattle's fanbase, even if they did toward him. He has said in the past that, other than his first game back in Seattle — when he was jeered mercilessly — his returns to the city have felt like great homecomings. He knows this is sports. He knows this is entertainment. One can go from hero to heel in this business.

Right now, though, Rodriguez is neither of those two in this town. He's a man who had great moments here, angered a lot of folks by leaving and has since been forgiven.

That's not the kind of thing that's going to get a statue built, but for A-Rod, that acceptance is probably all he needs.

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