Fansided

Alex Rodriguez will not attempt to play in 2017

By Brad Berreman

Aug 12, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) acknowledges the crowd before his last game as a Yankee against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 12, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) acknowledges the crowd before his last game as a Yankee against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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After an unceremonious release by the New York Yankees last August, we’ve probably seen the last of Alex Rodriguez as a baseball player.

Following a dismal run as a part-time designated hitter last season (.200/.247/.351 slash-line, nine home runs, 31 RBI over 243 plate appearances), Alex Rodriguez was released by the New York Yankees in August. Some potential landing spots surfaced, most notably the Miami Marlins, but Rodriguez did not suit up for the rest of the season. Now, he does not seem inclined to make a comeback during the 2017 season.

According to the New York Daily News, via spokesman Ron Berkowitz, Rodriguez will embrace his special advisor role with the Yankees and not attempt to play for another team next season. That surely means the 41-year old is done as a player, though Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman did say Rodriguez is invited to participate in spring training and he would remain free to pursue an opportunity to play if one surfaces.

If he is indeed done Rodriguez will finish with 696 home runs, which is good for fourth all-time behind Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. He also has 3,115 career hits (20th all-time), 2,086 RBI (third all-time), 2,021 runs scored (eighth all-time) and 5,813 total bases (sixth all-time). Over 22 major league seasons, Rodriguez has been a 14-time All-Star, a three-time American League MVP (2003, 2005 and 2007) and a 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner.

Rodriguez surely has a future in broadcasting if he wants it, as he has been a great addition to Fox’s postseason coverage each of the last two years. But with some sort of formal announcement of his retirement possibly coming at the start of spring training, the clock can start toward Rodriguez’s first year on the Hall of Fame ballot.

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As old-school writers are weeded out of the process, and the stigma of performance-enhancing drug use perhaps diminishes, Rodriguez’s Hall of Fame candidacy may stand on its merits with less and less controversy. That’s not to say he’ll get in, in his first year eligible or ever, but based purely on numbers and accomplishments Rodriguez belongs in Cooperstown.

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