A-Rod visits Jimmy Fallon, regrets infamous kissing mirror photo
Alex Rodriguez has lived under the perception of narcissism for years, but this one photo of A-Rod may have been the selling point.
There are few players in sports who are as polarizing as Alex Rodriguez. The New York Yankees’ third baseman/designated hitter generates an amount of animosity that is nearly unprecedented across baseball, and there is likely little he can do during his waning years to change that.
Well, perhaps a little self-criticism as opposed to aggrandizing may help that a little bit.
Now approaching his final year of guaranteed employment in Major League Baseball, Rodriguez is doing his best to try to change the perception that he is a selfish, narcissistic player. Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, A-Rod took a shot at himself, poking fun at the infamous image of the slugger kissing a mirror.
The conversation starts innocently enough, with Fallon chiding A-Rod for getting mad with his practice swings after spotting Fallon in the stand. Rodriguez responds that he is confused as to where Fallon’s baseball allegiance truly lies. However, the real magic happens a few minutes later.
If you skip to the 2:00 mark on the above clip, Fallon asks Rodriguez point blank if there was anything the 40-year-old A-Rod would tell his 20-year-old self. Rodriguez cleverly retorts about having enough time before surprising us all.
“Enjoy yourself, remember to have fun, and let’s see,”” Rodriguez said, “if you ever do a photo shoot, do not kiss any mirrors.”
Seems like some pretty simple words to live by. Of course, Rodriguez is referring to the 2009 photo shoot he did for Details, in which a sleeveless A-Rod looks at himself in the mirror and kisses his opposing image. Fallon in his infinite wisdom does a spot-on mock-up of the image.
While there is some disappointment that Rodriguez didn’t mention any regret for his multiple steroid snafus or his efforts to counteract the Biogenesis investigation, I suppose this is a decent consolation prize.