Alex Rodriguez is widely regarded as the best baseball player in the world. He was beloved during his tenure with the Seattle Mariners. Then he hit the free agent market and signed an ungodly $250 million contract over ten years to play shortstop for the Texas Rangers. A-Rod quickly went from the Major League Baseball's poster boy to the poster boy for greedy athletes who only care about winning.
In Texas, A-Rod put up amazing offensive numbers, but the Rangers continually finished in last place. So A-Rod wanted a chance to win and was traded to the team that personifies the delicate fusion of winning with endless greed: the New York Yankees.
A-Rod just concluded his second season in pinstripes and he’s the leading candidate to win the American League MVP award. His numbers, once again, were stellar: .321 batting average, 48 home runs and 130 RBI.
But he stunk it up (.133 average, 0 home runs, 0 RBI) in last week's series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim & Anywhere Else in Southern California That Has Baseball Fans Looking To Cheer On The Home Team.
After New York lost the series, A-Rod told Yankee manager Joe Torre that it was his fault the team lost and that he apologized for his poor effort. Commendable stuff. Except that A-Rod comes across as trying too hard to be the perfect baseball player. He wants to be thought of as the ultimate team player. He wants to be "all about winning." He wants to be the unequivocal leader of the New York Yankees.
To sum it up, A-Rod wants to be Derek Jeter.
A-Rod’s mother, Lourdes Navarro, recently told the media her son's poor performance against the Angles was due to his uncle's passing and the distraction it caused. A-Rod's uncle, Augusto Bolivar Navarro, was A-Rod's father figure and helped to raise the All-Star. A-Rod kept the news of his uncle’s death to himself because he didn't want to distract his teammates.
"I think he should speak with the team and tell them that his uncle, who was like his father because he raised him since he was 8, died in a hospital in Miami," Navarro told Listin daily newspaper.
I understand that athletes as talented as A-Rod are human beings and can be overcome with emotion. I would never criticize anyone for grieving the loss of a loved one. A-Rod does, however, have a long history of putting up huge numbers on the field and trying too hard to win over the public off the field. It comes across as contrived and insincere.
Fans are very forgiving with professional athletes (example: Jason Giambi). Furthermore, fans want to see their athletic heroes' actions speak for themselves. They certainly don't want to listen to their moms playing the role of public relations representative.
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