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Making the case for A-Rod as MLB Comeback Player of the Year

By Jeff Weisinger

Jul 27, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) prior to his at bat in the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) prior to his at bat in the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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Love him or hate him, there’s no question that without Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees may not be on top of the AL East as we go into the final stretch of the MLB season.

There aren’t a lot of words that can describe the 2015 season for Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez. However, if there are, A-Rod will certainly find them — eventually.

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The 40-year-old slugger, who is approaching the 700 home run mark faster than anybody could’ve predicted, is turning in one of his best seasons in the twilight of his career, and is helping spark the “post-Jeter” Yankees into playoff contention for the first time since 2012. To put that October-less drought into perspective, the last time the Yankees missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons (1981-1994), gas was under one dollar-per-gallon, the Internet as we know it was yet to be invented, people talked to each other in person or on phones that generally had cords attached. Also, toward the end of that time span young Alex Rodriguez was just starting his big league career with the Seattle Mariners.

After taking an entire year off due to suspension for PEDs, A-Rod is on pace to hit 30 home runs for the first time since 2010 (he even could hit the 35 mark for the first time since 2008). He is also on pace to bat .270 or higher in over 120 games for the first time since 2011, and may reach the 100 RBI mark for the first time since 2010. Moreover, he could also play in over 120 games for the first time since 2012.

Through 93 games, A-Rod is hitting .278 with 24 homers and 60 RBI. He also holds a .542 slugging percentage and a .378 OBP, both of which are his best since 2008 and 2009, respectively.

In a day where the new kids on the home run block, like the Angels’ Mike Trout and the Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton, have captured the baseball spotlight, Rodriguez has quietly re-entered the scene as, still, one of baseball’s dominant hitters.

A-Rod even told SI’s Tom Verducci that he has a hard time believing the year he’s having.

"“I feel like I’m in my 20’s,” he said on Monday, his birthday, during batting practice in Texas."

Oh, and in case you missed it, he homered once again on his birthday, because why not.

His birthday home run, the sixth he’s hit on his big day in his career, made A-Rod just the fourth major league player ever to homer as a teenager and as a 40-year-old. Prior to that big blast on Monday, A-Rod’s last four home runs measured 453, 480, 428 and 424 feet.

“In every sport, even in entertainment, there are certain people who are so talented and gifted, they’re so far above other people,” Yankees hitting coach Jeff Pentland said. “Alex is in that category.”

A category Rodriguez is also in, however, is one reserved for steroid users.

When asked by several people if he expected people to doubt whether or not he’s drug free or not, A-Rod simply says, “I can’t tell you what people are thinking, but I am, and I’m happy about it. I’m in a good place.”

Although he’s mostly regained the support of the Yankees fan base and most New Yorkers alike, there still are those who doubt A-Rod’s legitimacy.

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    • He started seventh in the batting order on Opening Day after the Yanks realized they couldn’t get rid of him without paying him the $61 million he was owed. That day, he went 1-for-2 with a walk. After going hitless in the following contest, he went 1-for-3 on April 9 against the Blue Jays and hit his first home run of the year. In the first 10 games of the year, he hit .344 with four homers and 11 RBI. Manager Joe Girardi bumped him up to the No. 3 spot in the lineup, a spot he’s held ever since.

    A-Rod is, without a doubt, the Yankees’ team MVP this year. He should also be nominated for the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award, much to the contrast of some people’s opinions.

    Although his year-long absence in 2014 was due to self-inflicted, poor behavior, he is technically also coming off of a 2013 year where he played in 44 games due to injury (and suspension) where he hit just .244 with seven homers and 19 RBI.

    While all signs point to Texas’ Prince Fielder winning the AL Comeback Player of the Year award (.333, 15 HR, 58 RBI in 98 games played), A-Rod’s nomination would show some sort of respect to the season he had on the field for the Yankees — a sort of retribution for the player who went from being “the chosen one” to nearly killing his own career and being done with baseball while he had so much more to give.

    There’s no taking back the things that Rodriguez has done or said in the past. However, while some will suggest that A-Rod deserves nothing on account of his transgressions, he has served out his punishment and should be treated accordingly.

    While he can’t change his past, or clean what’s now a tarnished career, Rodriguez can make sure his time left on the diamond ends on a good note.

    Winning cures everything. Individual success cures most.

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