Nov. 14, 2000 -- Shortstop Alex Rodriguez, perhaps the most desirable free agent ever to hit the open market, won’t be playing for the New York Mets.

The Mets have decided to pass on picking up Rodriguez, saying the All-Star’s contract requests would make him unable to fit in with the rest of the team.

“It’s about 25 players working as a team,” general manager Steve Phillips said. “The 24 plus one-man structure really doesn’t work. I don’t mean to cast aspersions on Alex Rodriguez. … But I don’t think you can give different rules and separate one player from the rest of the team.”

Rodriguez is expected to command $20 million or more a year, which would make him the highest-paid athlete in professional sports. But agent Scott Boras has outlined several other contract demands — including use of a chartered plane and a tent at spring training for the sole purpose of selling Rodriguez merchandise — that made the Mets balk at trying to acquire the 25-year-old player.

“I’m a big A-Rod fan, and I think he’s the complete package, but I think he has to be careful about how he goes about his business,” said Brandon Steiner, president of the New York-based Steiner Sports Marketing. “It’s still a team game, and he has to be careful not to insult the establishment that he’s a part of. … It could hurt his image, which is squeaky clean now.”

Indeed, Phillips said such perks wouldn’t work on a team that already has stars like Mike Piazza, Al Leiter and Edgardo Alfonzo.

“It would compromise the fabric of the team,” Phillips said. “It might be different in a different city without the same caliber of players. I understand why Scott is asking for it. He [Rodriguez] is a very unique player who is one of the best or the best in the game.”

Boras, who pointed out that Piazza’s contract gives him use of a luxury suite if the Mets build a new stadium, said he has not asked for special treatment.

“Alex Rodriguez has requested nothing,” Boras said. “I advised Steve that there was nothing in the Seattle contract and nothing in future contracts that would ask for special amenities.”

How Much Is Too Much?

As teams battle for Rodriguez and prepare to pay a record amount for him, some question if skyrocketing baseball salaries for A-Rod and others are getting out of control.

“I don’t doubt that these players should get paid handsomely … but I think we’ve gotten to a point now where things are getting a little dangerous,” said Steiner. “We’re talking about $20-25 million a year for one player in a 25-man sport, and we know one guy can’t turn around a baseball team, unlike in basketball.”

Rodriguez batted .316 this past season with the Seattle Mariners, plus drove in 132 runs and hit 41 home runs. The Mariners are believed to be still in the running for re-signing their superstar, as are the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The New York Yankees, whose $114 payroll was the highest in baseball last year, have All-Star Derek Jeter at short and are not jockeying for Rodriguez.

Other top-shelf free agents this year include Cleveland Indians outfielder Manny Ramirez, who recently declined a seven-year, $119 million offer from Cleveland; Mets pitcher Mike Hampton; and Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina.

Competitive Balance

Last month, the Toronto Blue Jays signed Carlos Delgado to a record four-year, $68 million contract to make him the highest-paid baseball player at an average of $17 million annually. That record is expected to fall when a team signs Rodriguez.

All this talk of big bucks for Delgado and Rodriguez has renewed discussions of restoring competitive balance in baseball so smaller-market clubs can compete.

In July, an economic study committee recommended that Major League Baseball impose a 50 percent luxury tax on payrolls above $84 million and that national broadcasting and licensing revenue be distributed unequally to assist low-revenue clubs with a payroll of $40 million. The study stopped short of saying baseball needs a salary cap.

Steiner believes smaller-market teams, like the Milwaukee Brewers for example, could arguably benefit the most by signing Rodriguez but would never be able to afford him.

“I look at it like the rich are rich and the poor are poor,” Steiner says. “This guy [Rodriguez] is going to go and make a rich team richer, and it’s going to put a spotlight on the question of how can we achieve equilibrium so every team can compete here.

“We’re in a game where there’s an unequal playing field, and baseball is at risk of losing some of the bottom-half teams.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.