Alex Rodriguez’s pregame ceremony was naturally delayed by storms.
Before Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees paid tribute to designated hitter Alex Rodriguez who was playing in what could be his last MLB game. Nothing is ever that easy with A-Rod so it’s appropriate that a storm delayed his pregame ceremony. Of course, A-Rod couldn’t help but laugh at the cruel irony of it.
The Yankees got former teammates to come out and congratulate Rodriguez, including good friend and former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. While Joe Girardi deserves to be criticized for how he has handled Rodriguez in recent months, the Yankees did a very fine job with A-Rod’s ceremony. It’s a great way to send him off.
Regardless of how you feel about A-Rod, his accomplishments are undeniably impressive. Rodriguez came to New York after being willing to move from shortstop to third base for Derek Jeter. The new Yankee Stadium is often referred to as “The House That Jeter Built”, but it would be negligent to imply that A-Rod didn’t play a huge part in it as well. He had two MVP seasons with the Yankees. Arguably, the Yankees hadn’t had such an elite player like A-Rod since Mickey Mantle.
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A-Rod will retire as one of the league’s best players of all-time. He is one of the five players with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. A-Rod is one of the four members of the 40-40 club after hitting 42 home runs and stealing 46 bases back in 1998 with the Seattle Mariners. He has won three MVP awards and is the all-time leader in grand slams. A-Rod ranks second in career RBIs.
His Hall of Fame legacy is complicated thanks to his use of PEDs. However, what can’t be denied is how great he was in his prime. For the better part of 14 years, he was the league’s premier player.