Editor's note: Alex Rodriguez has a unique relationship with the four players voted into the 2019 Hall of Fame class. He was teammates with three of them (Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina) and played against Roy Halladay throughout their careers. In the days leading up to their enshrinement in Cooperstown, A-Rod shares the stories of those stars -- as teammates, competitors and friends -- in his own words.
When I was 18 years old and in my first days with the Mariners, Edgar Martinez complimented me to one of the beat writers who covered the team.