The Fall of Alex Rodriguez

There was a point in time where Alex Rodriguez was the can't-miss prospect of baseball. He was the up and coming stud shortstop who could do it all, so much so that he bypassed playing college at Miami to be drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 1st pick of the 1993 draft. He saw limited action in both the '94 and '95 seasons, but in 1996 he stormed onto the scene in his first full season as a regular. He took his spot at shortstop and looked impressive with solid defense to go with his his balmy .358 average, 36 home runs and 123 RBI, finishing 2nd in the MVP vote. People took one look at this kid and thought, "he's the next great one".

Courtesy of ESPN

And they weren't wrong. He went on to play 5 full seasons in Seattle, finishing in the top 10 of the MVP voting each year, and averaging 37 HR's, 115 RBI and 25 steals. Then, he cashed in on his next opportunity. The Texas Rangers wanted him, and they were willing to cough up a good chunk of change for him to bolt from Seattle. He ended up signing a 10-year, $252 million dollar contract with them, by far the richest contract in the history of North American sports. But given the totally different state of baseball economics as opposed to the real world, why not? This was a franchise player who you'd have locked up for a decade. Someone who'd be worth the money, but he'd have to live up to it.

That's when he supposedly decided to dip his toe into the PED waters. He was just given this monstrous contract, and he needed to perform to show that he was worth it. And perform he did. Despite only spending 3 seasons in Texas, Rodriguez absolutely killed it. He lead the league in home runs each season, blasting 52, 57, and 47 in each season respectively, and averaged 132 RBI to go with a .305 average during his brief tenure in Arlington. He also won the 2003 MVP, even though the Rangers finished dead-last in their division and were a generally awful team.

That's when the Yankees stepped in and offered to take him off the Rangers hands. Texas was now realizing what a burden his contract was, and how badly it was hindering their growth as a franchise. After nearly sending him to Boston in a deal that would have netted them Manny Ramirez, the Yankees hopped in and grabbed him in exchange for Alfonso Soriano. The Yankees were now getting this superstar who had already garnered 345 career home runs courtesy of one of the most beautiful swings in baseball, and was still on a lightning pace to break the home run record along with countless other records, including Pete Rose's hits record.

To be able to elaborate upon Rodriguez's stint in the Bronx, you'd have to transcribe it into some sort of novella for it to be readable. In short, A-Rod was up and down with mostly ups as he stayed healthy. He twice won the AL MVP, with his most impressive season coming in 2007 as he bombed 54 home runs, 156 RBI and boasted a .314 average. In addition to leading the league in HR's and RBI, he also was the frontrunner in slugging (.645), OPS (1.067), total bases (376), and runs (143). All of this was aside from him switching positions to play third base, as Derek Jeter was the incumbent shortstop, and playing under the extremely bright lights of New York. Countless times Rodriguez was told to "earn his pinstripes" and was constantly berated over his ever-growing celebrity off the field, his sometimes questionable on-field antics, and his growth as one of the most enigmatic figures that baseball had ever seen.

Following the now-infamous ordeal surrounding the exposition of him as a former steroid user during his stint in Texas, Rodriguez came forth in 2009 and told everyone that he did in fact use steroids while with the Rangers, but he ceased use of these after Spring Training of '03. Now, on top of everything else he had to deal with, there was now this admission. However, it seemed as though this was a weight lifted from his broad shoulders as he went on to have his 12th straight season of 30 long-balls and 100 RBI, and absolutely dominate the postseason, something he had never done before. He had long been seen as a postseason failure, but in 2009 he delivered: batting .365 with 6 HR and 18 RBI, leading the Yankees to their first World Championship since 2000.

Since that season, Rodriguez has found himself riddled with injuries and unable to stay on the field for a full season. He hasn't even played more than 138 games since his MVP year of 2007, and his recently signed 10-year, $275 million dollar contract is looking more and more like a massive burden and mistake on the part of the Yankees front office. He still has 5 years left on that deal, and is owed more than $114 million, so it's impossible for the Yankees to simply just cut him. While he's still an above average third baseman when healthy, he certainly is not worth the money he's being paid and the baggage that he seems to always bring along for the ride. Especially now, as we are on the heels of another surprising report claiming that Rodriguez was among 6 players named on a list of ballplayers who received performance-enhancing drugs during the 2012 season.

Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

This would be the second time A-Rod would be nabbed as a user, and it's especially disconcerting considering there was a point in time where he said he was done with them and hadn't used any since 2003. That would have to make one wonder how long he's actually been flying under the radar doing these things, and what this will ultimately mean to the rest of his career. It's been reported that the Yankees are willing to explore all avenues to void his contract if he is indeed disciplined by MLB for his reported use of PED's. All this aside from the fact that A-Rod is sidelined until at least the All-Star break regardless, as he is coming off major hip surgery.

Combine the injuries, with the off-the-field distractions, with his obvious decline in skill, and now the purported use of his steroid use and you see what is fueling the urge for the Yankees to want to cut their ties with the once-surefire Hall of Famer. All of this blossoming from a young high school kid who seemingly was supposed to be the next big thing to grace baseball. He surely was the next big thing, but maybe not for all the reasons Rodriguez would have hoped.