A-Rod accepts apology from Posada

ST. PETERSBURG -- Alex Rodriguez said that he received a text message from Jorge Posada apologizing for Posada's comments in which the former Yankees catcher said that players who used performance-enhancing drugs do not belong in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Posada made that statement in an interview with "CBS This Morning" that aired on Wednesday, speaking from a ballfield on the University of Miami campus that bears Rodriguez's name. Posada later backed away from those comments in a radio interview on Thursday morning.

"Apology accepted. Much appreciated," Rodriguez said on Thursday at Tropicana Field, where the Yankees were set to finish a four-game series with the Rays.

Posada has been on a media tour promoting his autobiography, "The Journey Home: My Life in Pinstripes." Appearing on WFAN in New York on Thursday, Posada said that he felt he had been "cornered" into saying that he did not think it would be fair for players like Rodriguez to be inducted into Cooperstown.

"I tried to text him yesterday," Posada told hosts Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason. "I feel like I was cornered into this answer. I know better. I was really caught off-guard. The thing is, the book is not a controversial book. And the questions that have been asked from the get-go are very controversial."

In his comments to CBS, Posada also mentioned finishing third in the 2003 American League MVP Award race behind Rodriguez and Carlos Delgado. Rodriguez was playing for the Rangers that season and has admitted using performance-enhancing drugs during that time.

Asked if Posada needed to apologize, Rodriguez said on Thursday that he wants to keep his focus on the 2015 season.

"I'm not the right person to ask what's necessary or not," he said.