WASHINGTON — If you love baseball, you probably hate Alex Rodriguez.
It’s an understandable sentiment. He became the face of the steroid era, not simply by using PEDs but by repeatedly lying about them. Rodriguez removed any of the complicated feelings we have about Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte — who admitted they took performance-enhancing drugs and apologized — by being the demon we needed to cover our own misgivings about the steroid era.
He signed the richest contract in baseball history, only to re-sign an even richer extension halfway through. Then he was traded to the richest team in the only sport without a salary cap, where he opted out of his contract in order to sign an even more expensive extension. He’s netted more than $350 million in salary over his career, and is slated to make a good deal more.
And with good reason. It can be easy to forget just how spectacular Rodriguez’s career has been. Most players have a peak period of just a few years. But in the 13 seasons between 1996 and 2008, Rodriguez sported a .308 batting average, .392 on-base percentage and .584 slugging percentage while averaging 42 home runs, 21 stolen bases and 122 runs and RBI each.
There have been three seasons in the history of baseball in which a player has amassed 40+ home runs, 20+ steals and 120+ runs and RBI. A-Rod has all of them. Even more amazingly (or, perhaps not, depending on how much difference you believe PEDs make), those seasons occurred not consecutively, but over a span of 10 years, from 1998 to 2007.
But it’s the home runs that set him apart.
Rodriguez is the most prolific home run hitter still active in the game today, a game whose box-office success hinges on its most celebrated single play. There are those, especially in these parts, who will tell you that Cal Ripken’s streak is what brought baseball back after the strike of 1994. That may be true for some individuals, but the game’s true rebound was tied to the home run chase of 1998.
Just look at the past 20 years of attendance trends in relation to home runs. While power has disappeared the past five years, the number of tickets bought has flat-lined. No wonder new commissioner Manfred is looking for ways to increase offense. Whether he likes it or not, he’ll also get the active major league leader in home runs back in the game.
When Rodriguez caught the Yankees off-guard by reporting to minor league camp on Monday, there was a media throng twice as large as the fan base gathered to greet players. His very existence back here, in the baseball world, is a story. After former commissioner Bud Selig did everything he could to banish Rodriguez for good, A-Rod has outlived his tormentor in the baseball world.
It’s a shame Bud’s gone. He’s going to miss all the fun.
Baseball is better when the Yankees are its villain. The funny thing is, as much as the villain should be A-Rod, for all his transgressions, the Evil Empire’s even scummier attempt to wriggle out of its obligations makes Rodriguez almost a sympathetic figure. It’s worth rooting for him to succeed, in a Yankees uniform, just to spite the Yankees.
He needs just 31 more RBI to reach 2,000 for his career, which would put him ahead of both Lou Gehrig and Barry Bonds for fourth-most all-time. More crucially, he needs just six more home runs to catch Willie Mays for fourth all-time.
See, the Yankees built “marketing bonuses” into Rodriguez’s contract for matching each legend ahead of him on the all-time home run list. He’ll get an additional $6 million for each mark he reaches, starting with Mays (660). That’s in addition to the $64 million the Yankees owe Rodriguez in base salary through 2017, which they have been trying to wriggle their way out of paying for more than a year now.
In January, it was uncovered that the Yankees were trying to avoid paying the bonuses. After all, there will be no parades, no bobbleheads, no financial gains for the club to make. They are claiming Rodriguez signed the agreement under false pretenses, that his lying — only since he was caught, of course — devalues his milestones.
They claim they’ll fight an MLB Players Association grievance, if one is filed. Now is probably a good time to remind you (and the Yankees) that the MLBPA is not merely the strongest union in sports, but possibly the entire country.
Consider the brass at Yankee Stadium sitting on their hands and grimacing as Rodriguez blasts home runs. It’s hard to imagine the fans booing, so long as he’s helping them win, but who knows? Can you imagine the spectacle? It’ll be must-watch, appointment TV — “Major League” brought to life.
Only in “Major League,” the players were the heroes. If the Yankees insist on being the villains, could they unwittingly turn public sentiment back in favor of Rodriguez?
The man has served his time — a longer suspension than any ever handed out by MLB. America stands for nothing if not second (and, perhaps, third) chances. A-Rod’s quest for redemption may be the single most compelling individual story of the 2015 baseball season. It will be nothing if not fascinating.
