When Alex Rodriguez's lawyer's comment on PED usage deeply offended Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz

MLB greats Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz were once great friends, but their relationship became strained amid the Biogenesis scandal.

Rodriguez's legal team hinted at "Big Papi" using performance-enhancing drugs in 2014 but not being subjected to the same level of scrutiny as the former New York Yankee.

Rodriguez's lawyer appeared on ESPN Radio in January 2014 and said pointed the finger at a Boston player who had achieved "god-like" status.

“I’m not going to start naming all the other players, but some of them are god-like in Boston right now," said Rodriguez's lawyer Joe Tacopina.

Although Tacopina later disclosed that he wasn't referring to Ortiz, the damage had already been done.

Ortiz was offended by the comment and blamed Rodriguez for not standing up for him.

"If you're my lawyer and you represent me and say something in public, then it usually means that I stand by what you say," he told ESPN Deportes' Marly Rivera. "If you say something that I don't agree with, my duty is to call you and explain what is going on, and maybe to publicly say that you disagree with what the lawyer said, that's it. But that never happened.

"But this is in the past, and it does not matter, but at the time I thought it was [Rodriguez's] duty, due to our friendship and mutual respect, to say something."

Rodriguez was initially given a 211-game suspension, but he appealed and continued to play through the end of the season. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz lowered Rodriguez's penalty to 162 games plus all of the playoff games in the 2014 season.

World Series - Atlanta Braves v Houston Astros - Game Six

---

Alex Rodriguez attended David Ortiz's Hall of Fame ceremony

Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz appear to have buried the hatchet. The New York Yankees great visited Cooperstown last year to witness David Ortiz's induction into the Hall of Fame.

Papi… A Hall of Fame player on the field. A Hall of Fame person off of it. What a great honor to witness your induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame today. I’m proud to call you a brother and friend. ❤️ @davidortiz - Alex Rodriguez

Ortiz and Rodriguez also took a selfie together.

Despite their rivalry boiling over during their playing career, Rodriguez and Ortiz remain good friends in retirement.

Over the course of his career, Rodriguez played 2,784 games and amassed 696 home runs, a .380 on-base percentage, and a batting average of .295.

Ortiz accumulated 541 home runs, a .380 on-base percentage, and a batting average of .286 in 2,408 games.