New York’s Red Sox Lovin’ Mayoral Contender Wants to Banish A-Rod

Image Credit: Associated Press

Shockingly, New York City public advocate and mayoral wannabe Bill de Blasio’s campaign has not imploded in the weeks since he outed himself as a Boston Red Sox fan. Let’s check in on Boston’s NYC mayoral mole:

De Blasio outed himself to the New York Times and others as a lifelong Sox fan, which seemed like a daring move until we remembered that Mayor Bloomberg began his tenure as a Red Sox fan. (He switched allegiances once elected, but whatever, he’s a fake baseball fan anyway.) Since then, de Blasio has wavered only to say that he was “very happy to celebrate any New York sports team” as mayor, which, fine perhaps you have some ceremonial duties that don’t allow you to flip the Yankees off during a World Series parade or whatever. We’ll allow it. Polls suggest that New Yorkers, weirdly, are evaluating de Blasio on standards other than his baseball allegiances.

But if his suggestion that he’d celebrate a New York team gives you pause, take heart, for this week, when asked by New York magazine, “If you as Mayor could banish one New Yorker from the city, who would it be?” he answered, “I would have to say A-Rod. I think it’s time for A-Rod to just leave the scene peacefully, retire to Miami and have a nice life.”

As New York wrote, “remember he’s a Red Sox fan.” But as a commenter pointed out, “At this point all baseball fans hate ARod. Heck, I think everyone hates ARod. His Boston allegiance has nothing to do with it.” It’s true. Though we Boston folk do have a habit of throwing fast moving projectiles at A-Rod, De Blasio was a savvy politician here. He picked a position that actually united Red Sox and Yankees fans.