The New York Yankees are adamant in their stance to not acknowledge A-Rod passing Willie Mays on the all-time home run list, and rightfully so.
It is no secret around Major League Baseball that Alex Rodriguez is a cheater. The enigmatic 14-time All-Star and 3-time MVP has been caught red-handed or admitted to using performance enhancing drugs twice during his career, with his latest infraction resulting in him missing the entire 2014 season as part of the longest PED-related suspension in MLB history.
After hitting his first home run of the season last Thursday, Rodriguez’s career home run total is now at 655, leaving him just five bombs away from tying the great Willie Mays for fourth place on the all-time home run list. The New York Yankees, however are adamant on not rewarding Rodriguez for the accomplishment, something that all true baseball fans should greatly appreciate. Even the countless number of Yankee-haters around the world should feel compelled to give credit to organization known notoriously as The Evil Empire.
The revelations of Rodriguez’s rampant PED use were an unfortunate turn to what was sure to be a Hall of Fame career. In 2009, Rodriguez finally admitted to using steroids for the first time, but at the same time he also pleaded that he was a changed man that only used them during his tenure with the Texas Rangers during the early 2000s. He blamed the poor decision on overwhelming pressure from a ten-year contract worth $252 million, at the time the largest contract in sports history.
His plea to the fans was a boldfaced lie, completely and utterly full of crap. Barely four years later, he found himself at the center of the largest PED scandal that baseball had seen since Barry Bonds, Victor Conte and the Balco scandal that shocked the league and uncovered some of baseball’s darkest secrets.
As a result, the league amped up its attack on PEDs, making the elimination of their presence from the game the league’s top priority over the past decade.
People will throw around the ‘everybody was doing it’ excuse to justify his actions, or the argument that he made a poor choice as a young kid under microscopic scrutiny. The first argument is completely ignorant, considering he was caught during the middle of the league’s amped up commitment to eradicate PEDs from the game. I might buy the latter justification if it were not for the fact that he did not just make a dumb decision. Clearly the only mistake in his eyes was getting caught yet again.
Alex Rodriguez is a disgrace to the game of baseball, plain and simple. Are the Yankees merely trying to avoid paying the aging former star a milestone bonus? Most likely. Regardless of the intentions behind the Yankees refusal to acknowledge the accomplishment, the move is absolutely a win-win for all parties involved except Rodriguez.
Major League Baseball wins the most, however, as their career home run list is already plagued with blatant steroid user Barry Bonds sitting at the top. It would be nothing short of embarrassing for baseball to honor a habitual cheater like A-Rod for passing up a legendary, beloved and truly transcendent player like Willie Mays.
More from FanSided
- Joe Burrow owes Justin Herbert a thank you note after new contract
- Chiefs gamble at wide receiver could already be biting them back
- Braves-Red Sox start time: Braves rain delay in Boston on July 25
- Yankees: Aaron Boone gives optimistic return date for Aaron Judge
- MLB Rumors: Yankees-Phillies trade showdown, Mariners swoop, India goes to Seattle