A-Media-Lightning-Rod

So maybe I'm a few days late on the Alex Rodriguez hype. With not much going on in the baseball world these days, I figured I should jump on the band-wagon and throw in my two-cents on the subject, for what it's worth. If you're sick of A-Rod, you are definitely not alone, and you might just want to check back in a week for a new post. But, despite all the irritating things about this superstar, his accomplishments deserve some recognition--and what better way of recognizing the best player of the modern baseball era than by dedicating a post to him on an obscure blog with a readership of at least 7 (give or take).

Alex Rodriguez was drafted out of Miami's Westminster Christian High School June 3, 1993 by the Seattle Mariners and broke onto the Major League baseball stage July 8, 1994 at the tender age of 18 years and 4 months. Newsflash: If you're good enough to get at-bats in the Majors when you're 18 years old, you are pretty good. But, just two years later, at the age of 20, A-Rod was already contending for the American League MVP. His 36 HR, 123 RBI, and .358 BA that year were enough to earn a second place finish in the balloting behind Juan Gonzalez.

With 518 career homeruns, and now only 31 years old, he is the youngest player ever to reach the 500 homerun mark. When Willie Mays was 31 he had hit a mere 368. Hammerin' Hank Aaron had pounded out 398. And Barry "Indict-Me" Bonds had smashed only 334. Let's conservatively say that over the next 10 years of Rodriguez's new contract with the Yankees he hits an average of 30 homeruns a season. Now, if you're unfamiliar with A-Rod's season-by-season homerun totals, you might think that this is a little optimistic. He's got to have some down years in there, right? Well, consider this: He has officially played in 14 seasons, dating back to his 1994 debut. However, in '94 he played in only 17 games, and in '95 he played in just 48. Still, if you average his 518 homeruns and include those first two seasons, where he hit a combined total of 5 homeruns, he's currently averaging 37 homeruns a year. So, if you only take the 12 full seasons he has played and subtract the 5 from his first two seasons, his average homerun output a year jumps to 42.75 (which I guess would mean 42 homeruns and one triple?).

A-Rod is a very special player. Most people have plenty of reasons for not liking him though. Most recently, he aroused the ire of the media by announcing his opt-out of his Yankee contract during the final game of this season's World Series, despite rules that prohibit such news during the Fall Classic. Indications were that he was seeking a 10 year, $350 million contact as a free agent. However, there were a few problems. Most importantly, there is only a very small group of teams that could afford that type of contract. Besides, it's obvious that you don't need A-Rod to win a championship, since that is about the only achievement he has yet to attain. So, the Angels, the Giants, and the Dodgers passed. Suddenly, his list of potential suitors had diminished to one team: the New York Yankees. So, it seems he returned to the negotiating table, hat in hand, saying he still wanted to be a Yankee after all.

And, I'm okay with that. The Yankees are probably the only team in baseball that is bigger than A-Rod. It seems like a perfect fit to me.

There's also one other reason why I think he decided to go back to New York and it can be summed up in one word -- Legacy. If he were to retire today and never play again, he's a hall of famer, no doubt. Having reached the plateau of 500 homeruns is enough for admission to the Hall. But, under what club would he be admitted. For quintessential stars like Ted Williams, or more recently, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn, who remained with the same team for their entire careers, the choice is clear: Ted Williams=Red Sox, Cal Ripken=Orioles, and Tony Gwynn=Padres. But what about A-Rod? He spent a few seasons in Seattle, but bolted for the largest contract in sports history at the time when he signed a free agency deal with the Texas Rangers. He had some spectacular years there, but was soon traded to the Yankees because Texas couldn't afford the mortgage payments. But now, if he's able to play out his contract in New York and reach the monumental milestones for which he's ahead of pace, he'll finally have a home and a team.

Sure, you and I may not agree with everything he does, and it may be hard to relate to a man whose salary is over $22 million a year for most people. But, we have to admit, he is one of the greatest to ever play the game. There's A-Rod, and then, there's everyone else... In more ways than one.

Statistics provided by baseball-reference.com