Sunday, August 7, 2016

A-Rod: The Man, The Myth, The Legend


Alex Rodriguez, A-Rod, One of the most infamous personalities in the history of the MLB and the New York Yankees organization has announced today that Friday, August 12th will be his final game as a New York Yankeee. It pains me to say this but as I look back on A-Rod's tenure as a Yankee but I can genuinely say that I will miss the guy.

I grew up watching the Yankees and two of my favorite players were always Jeter and A-Rod, the deadly Shortstop/Third Base combo. I idolized him as he would hit 50hr a year and would provide such a spark in the lineup that I have never seen before by any player. He has so many influential moments as a Yankee, good or bad, they made a mark on my life as well as many other people.

Whether it was knocking the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove, Yelling "I GOT IT!" against the Blue Jays or the whole steroid scandal that felt like it went on for a decade I still looked at all these things and felt like it made A-Rod stronger as a person. He was always a clubhouse guy according to former players and coaches and in the past year he was a huge influence to the younger players. He definitely has more haters out there then people who admire him but he never let the hate get to him or stop him from following his passion and playing the game of Baseball.


Then we move on to where he becomes a legend in New York Yankees history and the part I want to focus on the most in this article, his 2009 playoff run.... Oh man this was one of the greatest postseason performances I have ever seen. Before the 2009 playoffs he was always considered to be non clutch or a choker in playoff situations but oh boy did he prove those critics wrong in 2009. It all started with his monstrous division series where in Game 2 in the bottom of the 9th he launched a game tying home run off of Joe Nathan which eventually led to a Yankees win. Then in Game 3 he hit another homerun in the top of the 7th inning off of Carl Pavano to tie the game 1-1 which would then lead to a Yankees division series sweep of the Twins.

And then it's time for the Championship series against the Los Angeles Angels, why would we expect anything different from Arod in this series? He proved his clutchness even more when he hit a game tying solo homer in the Bottom of the 11th of Game 2 to put the Yankees back in the game once again after carrying them the whole playoffs thus far. He would go on to hitting 2 more home runs in that series and lead the Yankees to their first World Series title since 2000 which was 9 years before.

You may not like A-Rod for some of the controversial things he has done but if your are a true Yankee fan you have to give him all of the credit in the world for our 2009 World Series victory because without him we still might not have a World Series since the year 2000.

I'm going to end this very simple with 3 short words..... Thank. You. Alex.


Follow me on Twitter- @Yankeesfan0504

6 comments:

  1. A-Rod, one of the All-Time Great Players of all time, one can say...with much arguement...he is One of the Greatest Players of All-Time. His numbers are only surpassed by one player, "Hammering" Hank Aaron.
    Yet, with all the Roids he has been accused of using over the years...along with many other power hitters (and pitchers) he has NEVER tested Positive.
    One of the greatest talents to play baseball in my lifetime, and he screwed it all up thinking he needed that something extra. What a jerk, fans may say his ego got to him, I say nay, nay!
    I think it was his lack of self-confidence, not his ego! Playing with the two teams before the Yankees, he got very little recognition for his game, it was always Nomar and Jeter. Is there anyone out there in the baseball world that can honestly say; "A-Rod wasn't the best SS or player in baseball"? When one stipulates he hadn't used drugs until he joined Texas. Take his first 8 years (minus first 2 years) and compute what might have been without the dirt he inflicted upon himself...736 HRs, and that fans isn't bad.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Let the A-Rod bashing begin...
    Did anyone notice that after Joe T., left the Yankees, the bad stories and innuendos about what a rotten team mate A-Rod was, quit? I think that is called; bashing one player to make another player look better. When I first said that back in 2005/6, I was called a Jeter Hater! One can say or think whatever one may wish, this is a Free Country...for the record, I have never disliked Jeter!
    For the last few years it has been what a great team mate A-Rod has been and a plus guy in the Club House.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you saying that I was bashing him? If anything I was glorifying him and explaining his positive impact he has had on the Yankees throughout his tenure

      Delete
    2. No, not at all Patrick H., your article was great!
      I have been writing about A-Rods positive side for years and have had to take the heat from most of the fans that always thought Jeter was a much better player, and A-Rod was an A-Hole. But now, I think many fans will be "Johnny come lately" or bash him anyhow.
      Jeter and A-Rod...two different type players, from much different environments and personality...both of whom were great at playing to their own strengths/talents.

      Delete
    3. Great article Patrick and definitely no bashing. You spoke on his on-the-field persona and game, the way it should be anyway. Very well done.

      Reed and I are in the same boat for supporting A Rod. Up until 2015 he didn't have many apologists nor did he have many friends. People like Reed, myself and obviously you will remember that when everyone else jumps on the bandwagon.

      Delete

Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)