Alex Rodiguez, Patrick McCarthy

Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez rescued Patrick McCarthy, 8, from getting hit by a truck in Boston in 2005. Joe McCarthy, Patrick's father, said he still keeps Rodriguez in his prayers. (Courtesy of the McCarthy family)

BOSTON -- Alex Rodriguez will probably get the trashing of his life Thursday.





The 41-year-old is scheduled to start at designated hitter in what is expected to be his last game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park before he retires Friday. The Yankees and Rodriguez reached a deal to end his contract that will still pay him the $27 million he's owed through 2017.



To Red Sox fans, Rodriguez has been their most reviled opponent since he joined the Yankees in 2004. There was the Bronson Arroyo slap. Then there was the Jason Varitek face shove. Then there was the Ryan Dempster beaning. You get the idea.



But at least one Boston family still considers Rodriguez a hero.



"He's been in my prayers every night for a long time," Joe McCarthy said.



Eleven years ago, Rodriguez saved the life of McCarthy's 8-year-old son, Patrick, at an intersection not far from Fenway.

A-Rod/Red Sox: 9 crucial moments



Rodriguez and the boy were crossing Newbury Street in opposite directions in the afternoon, hours before that night's game, when Rodriguez saw a utility truck zipping toward them at about 50 mph from around the Arlington Street corner.



Rodriguez instinctively outstretched his right arm, pulling the boy toward him and away from danger. The truck screamed past.



The boy was safe. A bond was forged.



Joe McCarthy will never forget.



"I still get goosebumps from it," he said in a phone interview from his home on Martha's Vineyard on Tuesday.



Rodriguez said he still remembers the it "vividly."



"That was scary," he said Tuesday, sitting in Boston's visitors' dugout. "That was very, very, very scary."



Today, Patrick McCarthy is thriving. The 20-year-old is a University of Massachusetts-Amherst junior studying chemical engineering.



Rodriguez's eyes lit up when he was told of the Patrick McCarthy's success.



"It makes me feel -- that puts it all in perspective," he said.



Rodriguez replayed the event in his mind.



"It was such a shocking moment for me to see something and kind of see it in slow motion," he said. "Obviously, I had the vantage point to see the truck flying and I saw him with unbelievable momentum. He had a blind spot. He couldn't see it. I was just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time."



The McCarthys and Rodriguez each have caught up at times over the years.



Rodriguez said he would like to see Patrick McCarthy and shake his hand soon.



Joe McCarthy said he and Patrick are lifelong Yankees fans despite their geography. They see Rodriguez's retirement as bittersweet.

Rodriguez's ineffectiveness since last August, coupled with the team's desire to get younger, pushed owner Hal Steinbrenner to work with Rodriguez to find a way to amiably end his playing days stuck at 696 career home runs. Rodriguez is expected to join the Yankees next season as a special minor league instructor and adviser, working under Steinbrenner.

Joe McCarthy said he's been disappointed in Rodriguez's use of performance-enhancing drugs and how he lied about them. But, he said, Rodriguez was a blessing for him and his family.



"And he's always going to be in my prayers," Joe McCarthy said.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.