Posted and backed by bostondirtdogs.com, a Red Sox fan website, the rally had hoped to feature former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee and a large group of fans chanting "Here we go A-Rod, here we go" and "Let's go Red Sox."

"The union's the biggest joke going," Jonathan Brolin, a 30-year- old equity analyst from Manhattan, said. "A-Rod lifted everyone's salary and now they're punishing him."

"I heard [MLBPA attorney Gene] Orza's a Yankee fan, so I wore the hat to appease him," said Jarid Maged, an 18-year-old college student.