A-Rod Slips Into Pin-Striped Suit

Alex Rodriguez could hardly believe it: There he was at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, slipping into pinstripes.

The New York Yankees introduced their newest highly paid All-Star a day after commissioner Bud Selig approved the trade moving Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers to the Bronx.

"Wow! What a reception. I feel overwhelmed and very, very happy to be here," Rodriguez said at a packed news conference alongside captain Derek Jeter, manager Joe Torre and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

"I still feel like someone's going to pinch me and wake me up."

The first reigning MVP to be traded, Rodriguez will now play at Yankee Stadium, perhaps three miles from the Washington Heights neighborhood where he was born.

"I feel very special and honored. I hope that translates into being a good team player," said Rodriguez, who will shift to third base from shortstop, Jeter's position.

Torre was in New York for the presentation of his newest player instead of in Florida, where the Yankees were opening spring training camp Tuesday.

Texas gets second baseman Alfonso Soriano and a minor league player in the trade, but it will still have to pay $67 million of the $179 million Rodriguez is owed over the remainder of his record $252 million, 10-year deal.

"I'm pretty excited. This is a big, big one," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said Monday.

Rodriguez is moving onto the biggest stage in town and will be expected to help New York win the World Series for the first time since 2000.

The sign board outside Yankee Stadium proclaimed: "A Rod, Welcome to NY."

"I've come to a point in my career when winning is the most important thing," said Rodriguez, who played for three straight last-place teams in Texas. "And being a New York Yankee — it provides the opportunity, when you drive to the ballpark, every day you have a chance to win."

Steinbrenner and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman personally assured Jeter that he would keep his position and that Rodriguez would switch to third — where his only major league experience is one inning during an All-Star game.

"Derek's response to me was he thinks this is pretty cool," said Cashman, who also said moving Jeter was "not a consideration whatsoever."

"You go with the man that brought you to the dance," he said. "You're going to stick with him. You don't mess with success. ... There is no issue there — who's the starting quarterback? We have arguably the best left side of the infield in the history of baseball."

Fervid Yankees fan and former mayor Rudolph Giuliani couldn't agree more.

"It's great for the city. He's returning home," he told The Associated Press. "This could be another variation of Maris-Mantle, Jackson-Munson, Gehrig-Ruth."

Former Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles will work with Rodriguez on the transition to the position. Steinbrenner doesn't expect controversy over who plays where.

"Jeter is the captain. He's our leader," he said.

The trade leaves the Yankees' payroll at about $184 million, with reliever Gabe White still unsigned and eligible for arbitration this week. By midafternoon, Major League Baseball's Web site was selling Rodriguez's Yankees jersey for $99.99, saying it would be shipped once his uniform number, probably 13, is finalized.

New York has four of baseball's eight $100 million players, and its opening-day payroll will be six times that of some teams. Yankees president Randy Levine pointed out that the Yankees paid $50 million in revenue sharing last year and another $12 million in luxury taxes.

"There are never any complaints when we write the check for $60 million and that gets distributed," he said.

Though the Yankees and Rangers finalized the trade Sunday, it needed Selig's approval because of the amount of the contract Texas is assuming.

"I want to make it abundantly clear to all clubs that I will not allow cash transfers of this magnitude to become the norm." Selig said. "However, given the unique circumstances, including the size, length and complexity of Mr. Rodriguez's contract and the quality of the talent moving in both directions, I have decided to approve the transaction."

Texas owner Tom Hicks initially opposed the trade, but later relented.

"Both of my baseball experts gave me their advice, and it was that we can build a championship team faster by doing this trade today," he said.