You Can Learn From Us

With Alex Rodriguez no longer on the New York Yankees roster, the next chapter of his life has begun. Rodriguez spent 20 years as a Major League Baseball player and it has been a journey that was full of peaks and valleys. Rodriguez was the first overall pick of pick of the 1993 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners, and when he made his debut in 1994, he joined a star studded lineup that included the likes of future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. Rodriguez would come into his own in 1996 when he batted .358 with 36 home runs and 123 runs batted in as he finished second in the American League MVP voting. Rodriguez would go on become a superstar, but his career changed after the 2000 MLB season when he signed a 10-year, $252 million deal to join the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez’s deal changed the landscape of baseball contracts as before his deal, star players would typically receiver $10-$15 million per season. And although that you can’t fault Rodriguez for taking the money that was offered to him, he quickly became a lightning rod for criticism as he was making $25 million per season.

Rodriguez would go on to put up great numbers with the Rangers which included him winning his first American League MVP Award in 2003 when he batted .298 with 47 home runs and 118 runs batted in. But Rodriguez alone could not get the Rangers to playoffs. And after former Rangers owner Tom Hicks nearly went broke after signing Rodriguez, the perennial All-Star was traded to the New York Yankees in 2004.

Rodriguez would join a team that was full of star power and he would begin playing alongside his good friend in Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. But since Jeter was entrenched as the Yankees shortstop, Rodriguez had to learn how to play a new position which saw him take over at third base.

Rodriguez would have a solid first year with the Yankees as he batted .286 with 36 home runs and 106 runs batted in. But with such lofty expectations placed on Rodriguez’s broad shoulders, and the fact that Jeter had already helped to deliver four World Series Championships to the Bronx, Rodriguez wasn’t a sensation with the Yankee fans; especially after New York lost the American League Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox, and in the process became the first Major League Baseball team to blow a 3-0 series lead in a postseason series.

Rodriguez would go on to win two more American League MVP Awards while playing for the Yankees, but he couldn’t escape criticism, with some of it being self inflicted. During the 2007 World Series between the Red Sox and Colorado Rockies, Rodriguez announced that he was opting out of his deal with the Yankees to become a free agent. This move by Rodriguez and his agent Scott Boras would draw the ire of many baseball pundits as they took some of the focus away from the Fall Classic. Rodriguez would get a new 10-year deal from the Yankees that was worth $270 million. The Yankees saw Rodriguez as the “clean” player that was going to become Major League Baseball’s new all-time home run king.

But in 2009, Rodriguez admitted to Sports Illustrated that during his time with the Rangers that he used steroids as he felt the pressure to live up to his massive contract. Rodriguez claimed to have never used performance-enhancing drugs during his time with the Yankees who were willing to put the past behind them. That October would see Rodriguez put his postseason demons behind him as well as he helped the Yankees win the World Series and the folks in the Big Apple finally accepted him.

Rodriguez would continue to put up quality numbers, but the injuries began to take their toll on him. Over the next few years Rodriguez would have multiple hip surgeries along with a procedure to repair a torn labrum. But the bottom would officially fall out for Rodriguez when he was linked to a South Florida biogenesis clinic that was distributing performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez received a free pass for his steroid abuse with the Rangers from Major League Baseball as players were given amnesty. However at this point MLB had implemented a strict policy in regards to using performance-enhancing drugs and Rodriguez was dealt a harsh punishment.

Rodriguez was initially suspended by Major League Baseball for 211 games, but an arbitrator wiggled it down to 162 and he would miss the entire 2014 season. Rodriguez would return in 2015 and he led the Yankees in home runs with 33. But here in 2016, Rodriguez was putting together the type of season that most people expected him to have last year.

In 65 games this year Rodriguez batted .200 with 9 home runs and 31 runs batted in and he found himself deep on the Yankees bench. It all came to a head for Rodriguez on August 6 when he and the Yankees jointly announced that his final game would be on August 12 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Being that the Yankees were still on the hook for nearly $25 million through the end of 2017 to Rodriguez, he was named a special advisor to team co-owner Hal Steinbrenner while also taking on a role as far as working with the organization’s young talent.

Rodriguez would finish his career with 696 home runs while he’s also been a lightning rod of controversy, and now he joins a small list of former sluggers that were linked to performance-enhancing drugs that are attempting to wipe the slate clean.

In 1998, Mark McGwire had the baseball world eating out of the palm of his hand when he did the unthinkable as he surpassed Roger Maris’ single-season home run record of 61. McGwire would go on to finish the year with 70 homers and he became the best thing since sliced bread. In 2001, Barry Bonds would take it a step further when he hit 73 home runs which is a single-season record that still stands and is more than likely to never be broken. McGwire would finish his career with 583 home runs which at the time of his retirement was fifth all-time in Major League Baseball, while Bonds would finish up in 2007 as MLB’s all-time home run king with 762.

But after several years out of the public eye, both McGwire and Bonds would once again resurface. In 2010, McGwire would become the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals which was preceded by him admitting to using steroids during his playing career. McGwire helped the Cards win the World Series in 2011, and since then he has gone on to be the hitting coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and now the San Diego Padres. But since McGwire admitted his use of steroids, the media has left him alone and he has gone about his life working in Major League Baseball to develop talent.

Like McGwire, Bonds admitted to using steroids, but he did it through his lawyer Allen Ruby in 2011 as the Federal Government was going after him on perjury charges during their investigation of the BACLO clinic. Just like McGwire, Bonds kept a low profile until last year when the San Francisco Giants brought him in as a spring training instructor. Now Bonds is currently serving as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins, and in the same form of McGwire, he has mostly faded into obscurity without most people having moved on from his past.

Now Rodriguez is seeking the same life for himself. After Rodriguez attempted to sue both Major League Baseball and his Player’s Union before ultimately accepting his suspension, he chose to reconcile with all parties as he has expressed interest in working in MLB once his playing career was ultimately done. Rodriguez did analyst work for Fox Sports last year during their coverage of the World Series, and aside from receiving the occasional jeers from fans, he did a solid job. Rodriguez has the look, the voice, and the charisma for television and could be a tremendous on-air personality if he so chooses. Like Bonds and McGwire, Rodriguez could be a solid contributor to a club as a hitting coach. And just like Bonds and McGwire, Rodriguez appears to have been somewhat humbled as he also has a laundry list of mistakes that he has made which current players can learn from as he attempts to begin the next chapter of his life.