It's June 5th, 2016 and Alex Rodriguez comes to the plate in what could quite possibly be his last appearance in Baltimore. A-Rod went 2-4 with a RBI that day, and left Camden Yards with his normal light booing that he has come to expect in most MLB parks. But these boo's were not as intense as you would imagine in his last game at a long time American League East rival's ballpark. For those of you whom have no interest in sports, or have lived under a rock for the last week, Rodriguez escaped Camden Yards without a bombardment of booing, was because at that moment he still fully expected to play out his career until the end of his contract in 2017
The playing career of Alex Rodriguez has not been mirrored by any other Major League Baseball player. He got two cups of coffee in the Major Leagues in 1994, and 1995, compiling less than spectacular statistics for the Seattle Mariners before bursting onto the scene in 1996. Rodriguez hit .358 with 36 HR, and 123 RBIs. After hitting 40+ home runs in his last 3 years as a Mariner, Rodriguez signed the largest contract in baseball history (at that time) with the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez went on to hit 156 HR, and won two MVP awards with the Rangers in just three seasons, hitting more than 50HR twice. Just before the 2004 season, Rodriguez was on the trade market, as the Rangers were rebuilding, and wanted to get rid of Rodriguez's contract. Though Rodriguez almost landed with the Boston Red Sox, he was eventually traded to the Yankees, after agreeing to change his position from Short Stop, and move over to Third Base. Rodriguez since being traded to the Yankees has accomplished many milestones, including an MVP in 2007, a World Series title in 2009, his 3000th hit, and to date 696HR in total.
Though the raw numbers may lead you to believe that Rodriguez is a sure Hall of Famer, there is a huge asterisk next to these numbers. Rodriguez is an admitted user of Human Growth Hormone. In a 2009 interview, Rodriguez admitted that he used steroids when he was with the Rangers. This was the first domino to fall that causes the question of the legitimacy of A-Rods statistics. The next domino to fall came in 2013, when Rodriguez was suspended for 162 games for his involvement in a doping scandal, which also saw many other big-name players to receive 81 game suspensions. This will surely impair A-Rod's ability to gain access to baseball immortality. I comparison, Barry Bonds, who was also accused of steroid use, has the all-time Home Run record in baseball, and has failed to get more than 30% of the votes on the Hall Of Fame ballot (75% needed to get in).
Fast forward to August 10th at Fenway park, with fans chanting "We want A-Rod" with two outs in the ninth, the bases loaded, and Mark Teixiera at the plate. Why would the Boston fans want A-Rod you may ask? Well, just days ago, the Yankees announced that Rodriguez would be released from the team on Friday, and join the team in a different capacity as a special adviser. Rodriguez is owed close to 56 million dollars between this season, and next. But, the Yankees decided to release him, because his production has vanished this season. After hitting 33 HR coming back from his 2014 suspension, Rodriguez is hitting less than .230 with only 9HR this year. So, as the Yankees continue their youth movement after trading Carlos Beltran, Andrew Miller, and most notably Aroldis Chapman, A-Rod is being pushed aside to make room for a young player to get their feet wet, much like when Rodriguez was getting his feet wet in 1994, and 1995.
With the end of Rodriguez's career scheduled for Friday, August 12th , many questions are still left to ask. Why cut Rodriguez now? Many analysts are speculating that there is an internal issue that we don't currently know about. This suspicion was reinforced when Joe Girardi said he may not play Rodriguez Friday, because "Farewell tours aren't part of (his) job". As for me, my speculation is that the Yankees are looking to save money. Though Rodriguez is owed more money than most of us can ever hope to make, he still has incentives in his contract that would pay him extra money for Home Runs #700 , #756, #762, and #763. So, the Yankees are still saving money by releasing A-Rod. Also, they assure he doesn't achieve those milestones in another uniform by keeping him on board as an adviser.
As the storied career of Alex Rodriguez comes to an end, most can only laugh. As the last two players with ties to the origins of the "Steroid Era" (the other being David Ortiz, although never proven) ride off into the sunset, Major League Baseball will happily move on to greater pastures.
This article was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball.
