Alex Rodriguez says the biggest lesson that helped shape his post-Yankees career came from an afternoon that was supposed to be quick and turned into something much bigger.
On a new conversation released Oct. 29, Rodriguez said a meeting with Magic Johnson stretched far beyond coffee and gave him a roadmap for life after baseball. That advice, he explained, helped connect his Yankees stardom to the broadcasting, investing and basketball ownership work he does now.
“He spent about three and a half hours with me,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said Johnson’s message was simple and direct.
“It was supposed to be coffee and ended up being a dinner. I’m forever grateful to magic.
And what he basically said is go out and never leave your sport of baseball. So if you can do TV for baseball, that’s your core audience.
And that’ll always keep you connected to your core.”
The interview came on Sebastian Maniscalco’s We Got Company, where Rodriguez walked through how that advice has shaped the way he has built his second act since retiring in 2016.
Rather than treating baseball as something to move away from, Rodriguez described it as the anchor that made everything else possible. He said the point was to stay connected to the audience that already knew him while expanding into other lines of work.
That approach has shown up in his Fox work and in his public speaking, both of which keep him visible while also giving him a platform to talk about his business interests. Rodriguez said that visibility matters because it lets him tell a wider story about what he is doing beyond the field.
“So I’ve done that with Fox. And then when you go out and do public speaking, it’s basically a free ad for you to go out there and tell your story about your business, which people don’t know about,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez spent 22 seasons in the major leagues and was a central figure on the Yankees’ 2009 championship team. Since then, his work has stretched across broadcasting, investing and sports ownership. On the episode, he was identified as chairman of A-Rod Corp and a controlling owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.
He also said he looked for guidance from several heavyweight names along the way, including Michael Jordan, Warren Buffett and Jerry Reinsdorf. That mix of mentors reflects the path Rodriguez has tried to follow: learn from people who have built careers that cross over from sports into ownership and business.
For Rodriguez, the goal was never to leave baseball behind. It was to keep it at the center while using the recognition that came with it to build something lasting.
He laid out the formula he now passes along to younger athletes and entrepreneurs.
“Slow and steady. Keep the main thing, the main thing, which is your sport. Stay humble, surround yourself with the best people.”
The Oct. 29 episode also touched on Rodriguez’s view of relationships between modern Yankees and Red Sox players, but the clearest takeaway from his comments was the one Magic Johnson gave him years ago: stay tied to the game that made you, and use that connection as the base for whatever comes next.
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