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They may have been rivals on the field, but it’s all love between Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz

Within the confines of Fenway Park, Alex Rodriguez is the most loathed Yankee of recent vintage.

In a 2019 Boston.com “Biggest Boston Sports Villains” bracket, A-Rod was the runner-up to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who was a mortal lock to take that title after Deflategate and probably will hold it for life.

But to David Ortiz, Rodriguez was no villain. He was his buddy Alex, a friend from their earliest days in professional baseball, when they were both Mariners minor leaguers and Ortiz, years from finding fame, had a different last name.

“How long have we been close?