The comparison, and perhaps the competition, between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez began long before they made the majors.
When the Mariners were analyzing Rodriguez, before selecting him No. 1 overall in 1993, Seattle scout Roger Jongewaard couldn’t help himself when describing the shortstop sensation from Miami:
“Similar to Jeter, only bigger and better.”
And so began the journey that has linked the two mega-stars to this day.
Jongewaard’s assessment is just one of many Rodriguez-Jeter references in the much-ballyhooed book “A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez,” by Selena Roberts, due to hit stores tomorrow.
And in those “Many Lives,” Jeter — unwillingly — is thrown in, all too often. Once Rodriguez became a Yankee in 2004, the once-tight, then-strained relationship rose to the surface, forever here to stay.
The two All-Stars, shown palling around in front of a camera on a Sports Illustrated cover on Feb. 24, 1997 — hardly were the friends they once were, especially after Rodriguez questioned Jeter’s leadership skills in the April 2001 edition of Esquire.
Now, all of a sudden, they were teammates.
“The intriguing catch here was that Alex Rodriguez — whom many people, himself included, considered the greatest shortstop of all time — had agreed to play third base,” Roberts wrote, “in deference to the Yankees’ incumbent shortstop, Derek Jeter.”
Things only went downhill from there.
But, of course, Rodriguez put on a good face through it all. Especially in front of the bright lights of the big city.
“Alex pretended to be thrilled to talk about his relationship with Jeter, while Jeter mostly demurred, ” Roberts wrote.
As often is the case with Rodriguez, though, there’s more than meets the eye. He didn’t use performance-enhancing drugs. Then, of course, he did. He only used them from 2001-03. Then, of course, he may have used them in high school.
So who truly knew the real story behind his feelings for Jeter? At least one source did.
“The Jeter thing ate Alex alive,” a Rodriguez friend told Roberts. “It was always about Jeter.”
On and off the field, that strain showed. As a player, Rodriguez “had put his body through everything to best Jeter,” Roberts wrote. “Yet he was consumed by one gnawing, galling, undeniable difference between them: Jeter was clean.”
Away from the diamond, he went so far as to use Jeter in his pickup lines: “The guys,” Roberts wrote, “who went clubbing with Alex say there was one pickup line he used repeatedly, even on women who knew nothing of baseball: ‘Who’s hotter, me or Derek Jeter?’ “
Rodriguez’s quest to one-up Jeter took two severe hits during the All-Star break last summer, a time when his divorce to Cynthia, as well as his relationship with Madonna, were mutually gaining steam.
First of all — in the Midsummer Classic at Yankee Stadium, of all places — Jeter and Rodriguez both were taken out of the game in the fifth inning. Rodriguez not only left the game, he left the Stadium. Jeter stayed, and watched the American League’s 4-3, 15-inning, epic victory.
The day before, Jeter won the popularity contest off the field, as well.
“Alex treated the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium as his bachelor party, one that celebrated his liberation from marriage,” Roberts wrote. “On July 14, one day before the game, Alex invited Madonna, Beyonce, Red Sox star David Ortiz and several Yankee teammates to a party he was throwing at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in Manhattan.
“There was a red carpet for guests and ropes marking the area set aside for photographers. Inside, hired dancers shook and shimmied as Madonna classics like ‘Holiday’ blasted from the speakers.
“Many A-listers were invited, but few of them showed up. Not even Madonna stopped by, and most of Alex’s teammates skipped his bash in favor of the All-Star celebration hosted by Derek Jeter. His party was packed with guests that included Michael Jordan and Billy Crystal.”
And so another chapter of this feud, friendship, foray — insert your description here — unfolds tomorrow, when Roberts’ book is released. Then, of course, Rodriguez soon will rejoin the Yankees, soon he will rejoin Jeter in the infield, and soon he will make more headlines.
A three-pronged exchange between Roberts, Rodriguez and Jeter in the prologue, perhaps best sums it up.
“It’s funny,” Rodriguez said. “Somehow I find myself in these situations all the time.”
Jeter concurred . . . sort of.
“It’s always something.”
It sure is.
tsullivan@nypost.com