It's a safe bet to say Alex Rodriguez isn't exactly the most revered professional athlete on the planet. He has his detractors -- millions of them. Of course, this all stems from his steroid abuse in years past. When was he juiced and when was he not? Only A-Rod knows for sure, and maybe not even him.
Given he's been in the majors for 21 years, it's not too tough to make an argument that most people can't recall in vivid detail every little thing they did over those many years. Good grief, some of us have a hard time remembering what we did last week, or yesterday, or even 5 minutes ago. Where was I? Right. A-Rod. See what I mean?
Nonetheless, fair or not, a few things about Rodriguez are beyond dispute. At last look, he had 659 career home runs, just one shy of tying Willie Mays for fourth place on the all-time list. Lofty company indeed.
Further, though he's 39 years old and it's early in the 2015 season, A-Rod has so far been the Yankees best hitter, leading them in average, home runs, and RBIs. After being forced to sit out the entire 2014 season, who would have seen that coming? Whether he can keep it up is anybody's guess, but he obviously still has some serious pop in his bat. Passing the Say Hey Kid is going to happen and likely soon.
Perhaps it should be noted that A-Rod is no doubt under a microscope these days when it comes to "illegal foreign substances". Whatever he's doing, he's doing it clean.
The Yankees have long faced a dilemma with Rodriguez since the whole steroid debacle came to light a few years ago. Like it or not, and they surely don't, they're stuck with his mega-contract. Over this year and next, they still owe him around $42 million. So what to do? If a guy can still play at a high level, and obviously A-Rod can, it would be folly to sit him down or send him away while paying him anyway.
Dilemma #2. The bonus clauses. When A-Rod passes Mays, he's due a $6 million bonus. The Yankees might well refuse to pay, citing the "cheating" thing. Given his current public stature, it would be bad PR for Rodriguez to fight for such a bonus. Obviously, he doesn't need the extra money. But another entity will likely jump in. That pesky Players' Union. A contract is a contract, and everything in it must be honored, they will claim. If A-Rod passes certain milestones along the way and is due bonuses, then dammit, the man is entitled to the money, they will surely argue.
From the union's point of view, this is something they have to pursue, lest a precedent be set. If the Yankees are allowed to renege on A-Rod's bonus clause, then what's to keep other teams from doing the same to other players in the future for reasons that may or may not be valid? We've all seen it before across the spectrum. Once the lawyers get involved, the truth ceases to matter. In their magical world, light can become dark, red is now blue, and trees aren't trees anymore -- they're dragons or cocker spaniels. It's all about winning and, in the end, the average Tom, Dick, or Mary has no clue what the hell is going on. Better to nip it in the bud while sanity still prevails -- sort of.
Dilemma #3. The Yankees have long been known for honoring their great players. They retire numbers and build monuments in their name. Give the Yankees a reason -- any reason -- to hype one of their own, and they'll be all over it. Yet they remain curiously mum over Rodriguez and his impending milestone. Just because they don't want to pay the bonus, and $6 Million is chump change to a franchise that rakes in what the Yankees do every year through their various team tenticles, doesn't mean the clause won't kick into effect when A-Rod pops another homer. Ignoring it won't make it go away. It's going to happen.
Idle thought: As mentioned above, Rodriguez was forced to sit out the entire 2014 season. For the sake of argument, let's say he would have hit 30 home runs last year, a reasonable estimate given his career stats. Instead of being at 659, he'd be at 689, only 25 behind Babe Ruth's mark of 714. Given the rest of this year and all of next, it's hardly a stretch to say he'd likely pass George Herman in the all-time home run club as well. That would mean another $6 Million bonus. For that matter, if he pops 30 this year and another 30 next year, entirely possible, he'll be right there anyway. Which would bring the Yankees to....
Dilemma #4. Would they retire A-Rod's #13? They've already retired every single digit number with the exception of #2, and that was worn by Derek Jeter. It's coming around. Good grief, they even retired #8 TWICE, on the same day, in honor of Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey. Throw in Jeter and the total is nineteen different numbers. But the answer to the question is -- not a chance. In fact, after A-Rod has played his last game for the Yankees, look for them to quickly give #13 to another player most of us have never even heard of yet. They will try to make the "stain" go away as quickly as possible. The Yankees have a storied history, but given the Steinbrenner years (and even currently), they've also shown they're hardly above hissy fits and pettiness in their front office.
It really is a shame, on a lot of different levels, that it all had to come to this. Alex Rodriguez may or may not be a lot of things. Great player, cheater, liar, egomaniac, lousy teammate, whatever.
But after the penalty phase for past misdeeds, real or alleged, the powers that be have ruled he is eligible to play, and he's playing extremely well.
He did his "time", so why can't everybody, especially the Yankees, just appreciate what he is doing now? Like it or not, the guy's still got game.
Personally, though reaching the home run marks of Aaron and Bonds may be a stretch, here's hoping A-Rod closes in on the Babe in the next couple years.
Imagine, the Yankees trying to ignore one of their own breaking such a hallowed record in the "House that Ruth built". (Granted, it's not the same Yankee stadium, but close enough).
Good luck with that.
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