I remember one day standing in the kitchen of the restaurant I was working in and getting an alert on my flip phone. It read “New York Yankees trade Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later, to the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez.” I was so hyped! A-Rod, as he is called, had been killing it for the last few seasons with the Rangers; combining his talent with my all-time favorite Yankee Derek Jeter would mean it was party time in the Bronx.
A-Rod switched from shortstop to third base all for the good of the team, a clear sign he was all-in with the pinstripes. During his first season with the Yankees, Rodriguez hit .286 with 36 home runs, 106 RBIs, 112 runs scored and 28 stolen bases. It was all coming together. The way I saw it, we had a beast in his prime to lead us to the World Series.
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After that season, A-Rod was solid during the regular season; a constant top 3 performer in home runs, runs batted in and batting average. Despite all that, Yankees fans tend to judge by one thing: How you perform in the postseason. The rest of it is just window dressing. In 2005, his postseason batting average was .133, which he followed up with a .071 performance in 2006. He was nicknamed ‘Cooler’ by his teammates. From 2005-2007, he had a combined one run batted in. ONE! What happened to the star, game-changing person we signed to take us to the next level? Was New York too much for him? Did the shadow of Derek Jeter make him nervous?
Finally, in 2009, we saw him rise to the challenge. A-Rod was on fire, batting .365, crushing home runs and being clutch. This helped the Bronx Bombers win the World Series, and a big monkey was lifted off his back. It was curious though, how just like other stars of the era, he went from skinny to jacked almost overnight. Rumors swirled he was using PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs), and like so many others, he denied it until he was blue in the face. This put his teammates in the media’s cross hairs and they had to answer questions about it as well.
In 2013, he was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as evidence came to light about his use of PEDs. In response, the MLB suspended him for the entire 2014 season. Along with the lying, his use of PEDs is why I do not consider him an all-time great Yankee. I do consider him a top 10 player, though. His baseball IQ is Barry Bonds-like and can’t be denied.
Based on his postseason performances, and his actions that put the franchise and his team in a bad spot, I can’t call him a legendary Yankee.
For more Yankee talk, follow Joe Cardoso on Twitter @Cright.
Hero (Top) Feature Image (& Additional Image): © Allen Kee / ESPN Images
