Friday, June 20, 2014

A Bad Reason To Hate Alex Rodriguez

I started to write my next article for my I've Got Til 5! column, in which I'd debunk five of the reasons people hate Alex Rodriguez, but the first reason got me going so much I decided to make it it's own post. For that reason I skipped this week's edition of I've Got Til 5! so I could work on it.

"Okay, I skipped it because I'm lazy."

It's not hard to dislike somebody that makes more money than you. With very few exceptions, we all believe we work harder than the person next to us. And even if you don't actually dislike that person, there's a good chance you resent him at least a little bit.

With that in mind, I'd like to point out that not including signing bonuses, incentive bonuses, interest, marketing agreements, and other perks, Alex Rodriguez has made nearly half a billion dollars playing baseball.

First of all, it's absolutely ridiculous to feel anything close to hatred for a person because they make more money than you... no matter how much more it is. Show me a person that says they don't want to make as much money as possible, and I'll show you a person that I wouldn't trust to pick the worms I use to go fishing.

Except to kill time between beers, I haven't gone fishing in... like... ever.

According to the Dollar Values given out by Fangraphs, Rodriguez has been worth nearly $250 million. Before you go down and start writing out a comment, telling me I can't do math since that's only half of what he's made, allow me to point out that that $250 million doesn't include 1994 through 2001. If we ignore his '94 and '95 seasons, in which he only had 196 at bats, his average WAR in those other six years was 7.23. That 7.23 WAR is worth approximately $21 million a season. So add another $126 million to his value.

I can hear you screaming, "THAT STILL DOESN'T EQUAL $500 MILLION!!!" And you're right, you mathematical guru. But what about all the money he's generated for the Yankees, Rangers, Mariners, and Major League Baseball in general, through ticket and merchandise sales?

Alex Rodriguez home Yankees jerseys are sold for anywhere from $150 to $200, and with all the Yankees fans in the World, I'm willing to bet there have been millions of them sold. And again... that's just the home jerseys. Do a search for "Alex Rodriguez" at the MLB.com shop and you'll find 70 items, which go for as little as $13 to as much as $1000.

There's a good chance that Alex has not generated a few million dollars for MLB and the teams he's played for. No. Chances are he's generated billions of dollars for them.

Imagine each star in that picture is a hundred dollar bill.

And then there's the charity work that ARod does and has done, which includes working with organizations like Keep A Child Alive, Raising Malawi, Soles4Souls, and UNICEF. Heck, he gave the University of Miami $3.9 million to build a ballpark.

On that note, it amazes me how much charity work by certain celebrities gets ignored. I'm a pro wrestling fan (as many of you know), and although I'm not a fan of his character, John Cena has granted over 400 wishes for the Make A Wish Foundation. Un-FREAKING-believable.

I'm not saying that you or anybody else doesn't have a good reason to dislike Rodriguez, but the amount of money he makes or has made should not be one of them.

This, on the other hand...

4 comments:

  1. I happen to Alex!! I hope he can come back..strong!

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  2. Replies
    1. Same here I have two if his road jerseys hanging in the man cave

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  3. Very well done Bryan...
    I posted an article once that raised the point about money being a little factor in the way some players don't like him...along with Jealousy.
    Most every player that signs with another team says money had nothing to do with their going to another team. They are lying but they aren't called on it. But he made the two biggest mistakes a player can make;
    #1-He said he wanted to be the highest payed player in baseball!
    #2-He criticized "The Great Jeter" by telling the truth.
    I have no use for him as a person, as I have no use for Jeter and Joe T. But I respect both Jeter and our 3rd baseman for the talent they had.

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