Looking back at A-Rod's rocky relationship with the Red Sox

Alex Rodriguez never played a game wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform - and yet somehow, the story of his career cannot be told without his escapades against the Massachusetts club. Though it began in a seemingly innocuous manner, the Red Sox-Rodriguez saga eventually boiled over into a full-blown circus - helped by the circumstances that put A-Rod in pinstripes - that continues to this day.

How fitting, then, that his final week as a Yankee will take him through Fenway Park one last time. In honor of his last series in Boston, here's a look back at the most memorable moments of A-Rod's career involving the Red Sox.

July 9, 1994: First big-league hit at Fenway

An 18-year-old Rodriguez made his big-league debut with the Seattle Mariners at Fenway on July 8, 1994; in that contest he went 0-for-3. The next day he shook off the nerves and recorded hit No. 1 off Red Sox starter Sergio Valdez, hustling down the line on a weak grounder and just barely beating out Scott Cooper's throw for an infield single. Nobody in the crowd that day could have realized how serendipitous the moment truly was until years later.

December 2003: Almost traded to Boston

Despite three incredible individual seasons in Texas after signing the richest contract in baseball history to that point, Rodriguez was ready to leave the Rangers for greener pastures after his 2003 MVP season. The Red Sox had just lost another heartbreaking playoff series to the Yankees, extending their championship drought to 86 years, and were looking for a spark; also, they wanted to rid themselves of high-paid and troublesome slugger Manny Ramirez. A blockbuster trade between the two sides came together quick: A-Rod would go to Boston for Ramirez and pitching prospect Jon Lester; to make room for Rodriguez at shortstop, the Red Sox planned to deal franchise stalwart Nomar Garciaparra in a separate trade.

So desperate was Rodriguez to leave the Rangers and join Boston that he not only waived his no-trade clause but agreed to restructure his $252-million deal and reduce his salary to make the trade happen. The Players' Association didn't like that whole "reducing a player's massive salary" idea and stepped in almost immediately, vetoing the deal on those grounds. And so, A-Rod would remain a Texas Ranger - until a few months later, when the Yankees suddenly had a hole at third base and pulled off a stunning deal that brought the league's best player to the Bronx instead of Fenway, quickly turning the sport's most storied rivalry up to 11.

July 24, 2004: The Varitek brawl

This was the moment A-Rod truly became a part of the storied Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. During a crucial game at Fenway in July 2004, Rodriguez was beaned by Bronson Arroyo, and didn't appreciate it one bit. The two exchanged words, and then catcher Jason Varitek confronted Rodriguez, leading to punches being thrown and one of the wilder bench-clearing brawls in the rivalry's history. The melee only set the stage for what was a classic confrontation in the 2004 American League Championship Series, where A-Rod and Arroyo would meet at center stage once again.

Oct. 19, 2004: The glove slap

As it turned out, A-Rod didn't even need to be wearing a Red Sox uniform to help ensure them a World Series appearance. During Game 6 of the classic 2004 ALCS, Arroyo appeared to drop the baseball out of his glove while trying to tag Rodriguez. The ball bounced up the right-field line and allowed Derek Jeter to score, sending Yankee Stadium into a frenzy. The Red Sox protested, however, saying that Rodriguez intentionally slapped the ball out of Arroyo's glove, which replays clearly showed he did. Umpires agreed and reversed the call, calling Rodriguez out and negating Jeter's run. Yankee fans showered the field with baseballs in protest but it didn't matter, as Boston held on for a 4-2 win. One night later they'd complete the sport's most improbable comeback and eliminate the Yankees.

Aug. 18, 2013: Schooling Dempster

Rodriguez was making his first appearance at Fenway since returning from hip surgery. More importantly for Red Sox fans, he'd just been handed a 211-game suspension by baseball for his role in the Biogenesis doping scandal. Needless to say, the Boston crowd wanted blood, and Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster did not disappoint his fans, brushing A-Rod back and then beaning him with the next pitch. As the Boston faithful roared and the benches began to clear Joe Girardi stormed out of the dugout, irate that Dempster was only given a warning; Girardi would get the boot as a result of his argument. A-Rod got his revenge a few innings later, though, taking Dempster over the Green Monster and silencing Fenway - all while staring down the pitcher as he rounded the bases.

May 1, 2015: Tying Willie Mays at Fenway

Given all the shenanigans that have gone on between A-Rod and the Red Sox it must have felt extra-special for him hitting this milestone homer at Fenway. Rodriguez was sent up to pinch-hit in the eighth inning of a 2-2 game, and promptly took Junichi Tazawa over the Green Monster for his 600th career home run, tying Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time list. The blast gave the Yankees a 3-2 win, but that wasn't why the Boston crowd was booing and jeering so loudly as A-Rod circled the bases yet again.

2016: Papi, A-Rod mend fences

A-Rod and David Ortiz, once teammates in the Mariners' farm system, were close friends for many years in spite of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry until January 2014. That was when Rodriguez's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, made some veiled comments implying Ortiz used steroids. "People were denying stuff. And I'm not going to start naming all the other players," Tacopina said in a radio interview. "But some of them are God-like in Boston right now, and people seem to forget that. ... Alex came clean and admitted something when he didn't have to." An incensed Ortiz didn't talk to Rodriguez for nearly two years afterwards.

That changed earlier this year, when the two sluggers finally made peace ahead of what turned out to be both their farewell seasons. "I spoke to him today," Rodriguez told Scott Lauber of ESPN in March. "I'm happy for him. He's in a good place." A-Rod later went even further and declared Big Papi deserves a standing ovation at Yankee Stadium. Maybe that will happen when Ortiz takes his final swings in New York next month.

Will Rodriguez get one from the Boston faithful should he make an appearance in this last series at Fenway Park? Judging solely from the past, it's probably safe to put your money on "No."