AJ, I’m as disappointed as you surely are that the Yanks won the Series last night. But I’m a lifelong depressive who has learned to seek out positives, no matter how small they may be, in any discouraging situation. So I’ll say this — I’m really happy for Alex Rodriguez.
He may be the most misunderstood player in the bigs since…, hell, I don’t know…, since I became a fan in 1967. All he ever did wrong was sign a contract for a quarter of a billion dollars back in 2001. That is, that was his only sin before he was outed in the steroid witch hunt just this past spring.
Yankees fans have treated him as if he’s the guy who mutated the Swine Flu into a human malady. Or as if he implied that Iraq was a half hour away from blowing up Manhattan with one of its ghost nukes.
He’s been portrayed as selfish and a choker. Puh-leaze!
From reasons I can’t fathom, New Yorkers have compared him unfavorably to Saint Derek Jeter. Guys like Tim McCarver have watered and fertilized the Jeter myth that he’s some kind of uber-human, a player who transcends the game with his grit, his desire, his smarts, his devotion to his team and so on ad nauseum. Don’t get me wrong, I think Jeter’s a Hall of Famer-in-waiting. But he can’t now nor could he ever hold either A-Rod’s bat or his glove.
When Brian Cashman brought Rodriguez and his wheelbarrow of cash over from Texas in 2004, he was already the greatest shortstop in the history of the game. Not Wagner, not Ripken, not Banks, not Smith — Alex Rodriguez.
Unfortunately, the beatification of Jeter had begun years before that. But Jeter, although the second-best shortstop in the game at the time, already was seen as lacking in range by us stat geeks of the world. The right move — and, no doubt, the move Cashman had in mind — was for Jeter, then aged 30, to switch to second base and together with A-Rod form the best double play combination ever.
Did Jeter do that? Hell no! I’m the captain of this team, Jeter hollered, as Rodriguez was modeling pinstripes for the media. This is my team. I’m not moving for anybody!
Hell of a team player, no? What did A-Rod do? Did he bitch and moan and say, Hell, I’ve won Gold Gloves, I’ve won an MVP (for a last place team, no less), I hit 50 homers a year, I oughta be the shortstop of the New York Yankees? Uh uh. He moved to third base. He had to learn a new position and didn’t complain about it. He struggled a bit but finally got the hang of it. Four years later he only turned in the greatest season any third baseman ever has.
For that New Yorkers have branded him selfish and a choker. Dopes.
Let’s take a quick look at this purported choker’s post-season production. After all, the playoffs is when the real men shine, right? That’s what they say about Saint Derek.
Over 54 post-season games, Rodriguez has smacked 13 homers, driven in 35 runs, batted .302, and posted a .568 slugging percentage and a .409 on-base percentage for a robust .977 OPS. Yeee-owww! That’s in October (and, this year, November), when the eyes of the world are upon him and he’s facing the best pitchers.
Derek Jeter? Mr. November? The god of clutch? The greatest man ever to stride the Earth? In his 138 post-season games, he has batted .313, slugged .479, gotten on base at a 38 percent clip. Good numbers…, no, great numbers, especially for a shortstop. Still, they’re not A-Rod numbers.
So what’s the problem with Rodriguez? Nothing. But as long as the Yanks failed year after year to win the World Series, spoiled and demanding New Yorkers had to blame someone. May as well have been the guy with the quarter-billion-dollar contract.
No more. He’s now a champion. Of course, in my mind he’s always been.
