It was only fitting that such a storied career would end with something so uncharacteristic. Alex Rodriguez turned over on a first pitch fastball to ground out to shortstop; making the final out of the eighth inning on Friday night, August 12. For a man who saw an average of 3.92 pitches per plate appearance in his 22-year career, A-Rod showed once again why he is now just a shell of the athlete he once was. A-Rod was gifted an opportunity to run onto the field and play one final out at third base; the place he had commanded for the majority of his time with the Yankees. One out, and that was it. He came jogging off the field, and the lights officially went out on what could have, and probably should have, been the greatest career in Major League Baseball history.
At first glance, Alex Rodriguez is a Hall-of-Famer. A career .295 batting average and a .380 on-base percentage. He ranks fourth all-time with 696 home runs, third all-time in RBIs with 2,086 and 13th all-time in WAR (wins above replacement). He's a member of the prestigious 3,000 hit club and 500 home run club- numbers that ordinarily cement your Hall of Fame candidacy. But for years to come, the legitimacy of Alex Rodriguez's career, stats and Hall of Fame candidacy will be nothing short of an all out war between baseball purists and progressives.
Rodriguez played a grand total of 44 games between the 2013-2014 seasons; his time cut short by a full-season suspension in 2014 for breaking Major League Baseball's substance abuse policy. Much like Barry Bonds, the aura of steroids became the most notable aspect of his career.
The issue with A-Rod's steroid use is that it not only made his accomplishments feel illegitimate, but it also hurt the fans. For a man who should have enjoyed a retirement tour like his former teammate Derek Jeter did, or like the legendary David Ortiz is enjoying now, all A-Rod received was a quiet send off, and a manager who denied him a chance to start and play his final game in the field.
Ultimately, A-Rod's steroid usage and subsequent role in the conspiracy cover up of his actions cost him an entire season's worth of production. A season that could have catapulted him into the top two or three players, statistically, in baseball history. Instead, A-Rod spent 2014 away from the game and watched his Hall of Fame candidacy disappear before his eyes.
The Hall of Fame has shown no signs of forgiveness toward those whose careers have been defined by their steroid usage. Barry Bonds, the all-time home run king, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, two men credited with helping save the sport in the 1990s when popularity was at an extreme low, and Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers in the modern era. All of them have been denied entrance to the Hall of Fame...all of them due to the steroid allegations revolving around their career.
Some of baseball's greatest heroes are barred from the Hall of Fame, and whether they'll be voted in before their eligibility runs dry is anybody's guess. One could point to the flawed system that allows prideful baseball journalists the right to decide whether an athlete like Barry Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame as a poor cog in a broken system, but that's a conversation for another post.
In the end, Alex Rodriguez will always be remembered as one of the greatest athletes to ever play the game. But he will always be remembered with an asterisk. Steroid usage caused his stats to feel fake and subsequently cost him a year of service time. The main thing that remains as Alex Rodriguez bids adieu to baseball is the reality of what is compromised the potential of what should have been.
